The Last Stand
by packleader96
Summary: With Shadow's army closing in on them, Twilight and her friends, along with the Guardian's, prepare for the final battle, with Equestria itself on the line, will they succeed, or will everything they know become lost. rated T for violence, language, and some sexuality.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: yes, I'm back with the fourth and final installment of the guardian series, I've had a blast writing this, now let's see how it all comes to a close.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP; it belongs to its rightful owners.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 1: war on the horizon**

(PonyVille, town square)

It had been half a day, since Silver and his friends had arrived in the ruined town of PonyVille; they recently, discovered ponies that had survived the attack, they ad hidden in the town hall, where they believed they would be safe.

But, with their arrival, they all knew that Shadow's army would not be far behind them, deciding not to run, Silver had asked Shining Armor and the lieutenant, to get in contact with the other royal guard bases in the area, while Silver himself, would try to contact the sanctuary, and all other Guardian outposts around their area, they would need as many soldiers as possible.

Silver had ordered for his son, to have their camp set up, in the middle of town square, as soon as camp was set up, he had ordered for his uncle to escort Rarity, to the shrine, which they discovered was right beneath PonyVille, and so they have been waiting for her to return.

Flame was walking through the camp, ever since it had been set up, he hadn't seen his wife anywhere, at first he thought she was with her friends, but when he asked, they said they hadn't seen her since they arrived, and now he was getting worried.

When he came up to the middle of their camp, he saw Silver leaning over a table, with a map set on it, as he came closer he also saw Shining Armor, Cadence, the lieutenant, and all the others, gathered around, he could tell he was bust, but he wanted to know if Silver had seen Twilight anywhere.

"excuse me" he said stepping up, Silver sighed, and turned around, with an annoyed look on his face, "sorry Flame, but I'm a little busy, at the moment" he said as he turned back to the table, as much as he didn't want to bother him, he had to know.

"I know Silver, but I wanted to know if any of you have seen Twilight anywhere, she not with her friends" he said, with a worried tone of voice, this seemed to catch Silver's attention; he turned around quickly, with a shocked look on his face.

"Wait, you mean you haven't seen her?" he said, Flame just shook his head, he turned back to the others at the table, "have any of you, seen Twilight?" he asked, with a worried look on his face.

"I haven't seen her, since camp was set up", they heard Shining Armor say, Silver looked down at the map, "dammit, I told her not to wander off, uncle get a search party started" he said, but before his uncle could answer, Flame spoke up again.

"That's not necessary Silver, I have a pretty good idea, as to where she went" he said, as he walked away, and out of the camp, and into the town.

(PonyVille, public library)

Twilight was walking through the streets of the town she came to love so much, seeing it in this state, only brought pain to her heart, but not as bad, as when she turned the corner, and saw the place she loved the most.

In front of her, stood the PonyVille library, but to her surprise, it was still in good shape, the only thing she could see was some burn marks, and small holes, that dotted across the walls, she sighed in relief that her home, managed to survive the attack.

She took a deep breath, and walked inside, and as she opened the door, she walked in and saw the front room, but not as she left it, shortly after they had arrived, she had reunited with Spike, and was as happy as could be, she remembered all the time they spent organizing the library, but looking at it now, it wasn't good.

Papers lay on the floor, books scattered everywhere, pieces of glass were spread across the ground, making her have to step carefully, and as she continued to look around, she even saw some of the book shelves destroyed, and fallen to the ground.

When she looked to the side, she saw the staircase, with most of the steps still in place, while the others were broken or missing a piece, or not even there at all, she sighed sadly, as she slowly made her way up the stairs.

When she came up into the halls, they seemed to be untouched, until she came into a specific room, there she stood inside her room, but just like the rest of the house, it was still in remarkably good shape, aside from the few holes in the wall, and all the papers and books spread everywhere.

She felt tears well up in her eyes, as she walked over to the shelf, that had all her pictures, from the times she spent with her friends, to the day of her wedding, she felt a few tears fall down her face, as she picked up the picture of the day her and Flame got married, what made her cry the most, was that she saw the picture had cracked and, wasn't able to make out their faces any more.

She got up and walked over to her desk, and light a candle, and so she did with all the others and the room, leaving only a faint level of light, but enough to see around, and just as she was finished lighting the last candle, she heard a set of hooves come up to the doorway, "Twilight, are you here?" she heard her husband say, but she didn't want to answer, but he spotted her none the less.

He walked halfway into the room, and stopped, "Twilight, there's no need to be here, let's go back to camp, the others are worried about you" he said, walking up behind her, and placing a hoof on her shoulder.

At first she didn't answer, but after a few moments of silence, she finally did, "this…this was our home Flame, this is where we lived, this is where we would have started a family, but now, it all seems lost" she said as she started to cry, even now, Flame still hated to see her like that, he quickly turned her around, and pulled her into a hug, one that she gladly returned.

He could feel the tears hitting his shoulder, they stared their quiet at first, but then Flame spoke up, "Twilight listen to me, we are going to make it through this, all of us, and when it's over, we can help rebuild, and then we can start a family" he said as they pulled apart, they looked into each other's eyes at first.

"r-really?" she asked, Flame smiled, and looked deep into her eyes, "that I can promise you, we will make it out of this" he said, and they stayed there like that for a few minutes, just staring into each other's eyes, until they slowly leaned forward, and their lips connected, in a deep, passionate kiss.

To them it lasted for minutes, but it was only a few seconds, they separated, and again stared into each other's eyes, Twilight smiled, and leaned in, and whispered into his ears, "you know Flame, we never did get to continue our little activity" she said, with a seductive tone of voice, when she pulled away, Flame had a smile on his face.

"I love you Twilight" he said, as he again, stated into her eyes, "I love you too, Flame" she said, he smiled and pulled her in for another kiss, this one more rough, but Twilight wasn't arguing.

They continued to kiss, and soon it became more passionate and eager, as Flame lifted Twilight up onto the bed, with him landing on top, they stayed like that, until an unfortunate, burst of wind, flew into the room, and blew out all the candles, leaving the two lovers alone in the dark.

(The next day)

As the sun came up over the silent town of PonyVille, despite the coming events, all the ponies thought it was a beautiful day, as Silver, came out of the tent, he stretched, and walked to the middle of camp, where he saw his friends and family, already eating their breakfast.

He walked up to them, "good morning everpony" he said, as he took a seat, and a guard came up and dropped off, a plate of food in front of him, "so, has there been any news on miss Rarity, he asked looking over at his uncle, "yes there has, she returned later in the night, she resting now" he said, taking another bite of his food, Silver sighed in relief, and then took a bite of his food.

It was then, that he noticed two ponies weren't there, "wait a minute, has anypony seen Twilight and Flame, anywhere?" he asked, and the others began looking at each other with worried expressions.

(PonyVille, public library)

The early morning sun, shined through the windows, and holes in the wall, it shined in on a particular pair of ponies, wrapped in the blankets, and nuzzled up against each other, both of them had content smiles on their faces.

Flame, had his hoof draped around Twilight's chest, but Twilight was having a very interesting dream.

(Twilight's dream)

Twilight opened her eyes, and found herself, in an empty white space, with no signs of life anywhere; she turned to her side, and saw no sign of flame at all.

She got up and began looking around, "hello! Is anypony there, Flame, please talk to me" she said as she looked in all directions, but still no sing, she sat on the floor, and began to cry, until she heard a familiar voice.

"Fear not Twilight Sparkle, you are not alone" it said, Twilight spun around, and saw a familiar unicorn standing there, staring at her, with a smile on his face, Twilight instantly recognized him, and gave a respectful bow, "Midnight Star" she said surprised as she rose back up to her former position, he laughed, "it's good to see you too" he said, with a warming smile.

"But…how, is this-" she asked, but before she could finish, he held up a hoof, and silenced her, "relax, this is only a dream, we can only step into the mortal world, one more time, and that will come eventually" he said, as five other ponies appeared beside him, Twilight didn't recognize them, but she had a feeling that they were the other elements.

"we are here to help you, win this war" he said with a serious face, Twilight sat down, and listened, Midnight Star, cleared his throat, and began to speak, "while we cannot help physically, we can help you win this war, and help you defeat Shadow Blaze" he said, leaving Twilight very confused.

"But how will we know?" she asked, the other simply smiled, "in time, when we are there, you will know" he said, before they all slowly began to fade away, into nothing, again leaving Twilight alone, twilight tried to call out, but before she could, everything went black.

(Reality)

Twilight eyes, shot open and she looked around, she sighed when she realized that she was back in her room, suddenly she felt movement next to her, she smiled and turned around, and came face to face with Flame, who was still fast asleep and snoring lightly.

Suddenly the memories of last night came flooding back to her, the passion, the excitement; she smiled as she tried to wake Flame up.

"Flame" she whispered, kissing him on the nose, he stopped snoring but didn't wake up, she heard him mutter in his sleep, making her giggle, so she tried again, "wake up Flame" she said, and he finally opened his eyes, and stared right into hers, he smiled, "oh it's you, good morning" he said in a still sleepy voice.

"Last night was…amazing" she said with a smile on her face, Flame smiled back at her, "yeah, and I hate to be the one to ruin the moment, but we should return to camp, they are all probably worried sick" he said as he leaned in and gave another long kiss on the lips.

So they got up, and got ready, before returning to the camp.

(PonyVille, town square)

As they walked back into camp, they didn't find any trace of their friends, until they walked into the center, where they saw, Silver and the rest of their friends, gathered around a table, looking over a map.

When they walked up, they all turned around, with smiles on their face, and so they all walked up to each other, "I was wondering when you two would get back, I was just about to send a search party" Silver said with a smile, both Flame and Twilight blushed heavily, trying to hide it, they decided not to tell the others about their 'activity'.

"Well, we were just having some…alone time" he said glancing over at Twilight, who just looked back at him, luckily none of them caught on, "okay then, well I'm still glad your back, Twilight your friend Rarity has come back, why don't you go and check on her" he said, Twilight nodded, and gave Flame a quick kiss on the cheek, before she went the other way.

They all turned back to the map, and gathered around, "okay, what do we know so far?" Flame asked, as he stood next to Shining Armor, and looked over at Silver, who was looking over the map, "well, we know that their army will be coming from the forest" he said pointing from the forest edge, to the edge of town, "right here, is where we will set up our own army, lucky for us, I was contacted by the guardians sanctuary, and plus Shining Armor got in touch, with the royal guard bases in the area, and they have agreed to send us troops, which will be a big help" he said looking up at Flame.

Just then, a guard came running up from behind, and took a bow in front of silver, "my lord, we have intercepted a bit of news from Canterlot" he said, as he got back up, Silver fully turned to him, "what might that be?" he said, the guard took a deep breath, "apparently, Shadow's general was killed, and was replaced with two new ones" he said, this surprised Silver.

"Really, well if we are lucky, they might not have experience, what are their names?" he asked, the guard again took a deep breath, and spoke up, by this time twilight and her friends, had walked up, and were paying attention.

"their names are the Prophet and Rage" he said, as all the others fell silent, except for one, Dark Star who was there at the table, heard those names, and looked up, he got up and walked over to the guard, and got right in front of them, "what were their names again?" he said, the guard could feel beads of sweat, rolling down his face.

"um, the Prophet and Rage, sir" he said, Dark Star's eyes widened, he turned away, "that's not possible" he said, as he began pacing back and forth, Silver turned back to the guard, "you can go now" he said, the guard gave a quick bow, and walked off.

Silver then turned his attention, to Dark Star, who seemed deep in thought, "do you know those ponies?" he asked, and when he did, Dark Star, looked right at him, all the ponies around were silent, until suddenly, Dark Star started laughing, and looked at all the others, "of course I them, the Prophet has been an enemy of my team for some time now, and Rage…Rage was the one who sold us out to the Prophet, and in doing so my mare friend was killed, and we were forced to leave our home, and that's why we also joined you" he said, looking at all the others, he looked down at the ground for a second.

"I treated all my team mates like family, Rage betrayed us, and so…I had him banished, I thought he was gone" he said with a sorrowful expression on his face, he looked back up at Silver, "unfortunately, we are out of luck, the Prophet Is an excellent strategist" he said before he walked off, Silver turned back to the table, all the others remained silent.

Silver turned back to them, and was about to speak, when suddenly the ground started to shake, almost knocking them off their hooves, they tried to regain their balance, suddenly, they heard the sound of sir ship engines, and as it got louder, they looked up and saw two massive air ships flying over the town.

At first they began to panic, until they saw the royal guard symbol on one of them, and the guardian's symbol on the other, and after they passed over the town, and to the place where the other air ship was landed, one of the guards came out of a tent.

"My lord, we are receiving a transmission" he said, Silver looked over at the others, and ran into the tent, and when he did, he came up to the radio, "hello, who is this?" he said into the microphone, shortly after he got his answer, _"sorry to keep you waiting my lord, but we're here to help, permission to land sir?"_ he heard a voice say through the speaker, one that he recognized.

Silver sighed heavily, with relief; he knew it was their reinforcements; he looked back at the others, and then turned back to the speaker, "permission granted, we'll be there to meet you, old friend" he said as he, turned and ran out of the tent, confused by what he was doing, the others just ran after him.

(PonyVille, outskirts)

Silver and the others, ran to the edge of town, just in time to see the two massive air ships, landing next to theirs, a big smile appeared on Silver's face, as he ran forward, and just as they came up to it, the main ramp slowly began to descend.

When they arrived, the ramp had touched the ground; they all looked up, and saw two ponies standing at the top, and when the two ponies stepped off the ramp, and they stood in front of Silver, one of them gave a bow, while the other walked over to Shining Armor, and saluted him.

And when he rose from his position, Silver just grabbed his hoof and shook it, "ah, it's good to see you, my old friend, where have you been, I haven't seen you at the sanctuary, in some time?" Silver said with a smile, the other pony just returned his smile.

"Well, being your general, I have to travel a lot, but I heard you needed help, so here I am" he said, with a smile, they stayed there like that for some time, until his smile disappeared, "listen Silver, I heard about what happened with Sapphire, I'm truly sorry, she was a good friend of mine as well, so you are not alone" he said, with a solemn look, on his face.

Silver sighed sadly, "I know, thanks for the concern, but I'm fine…oh and these are my friends, the elements of harmony" he said gesturing to Twilight and her friends, and he looked to them with a smile, and gave a respectful bow.

"Twilight, this is my old friend, general Striker" he said, gesturing to the other pony, and after they all got acquainted, Silver turned to his friend, "so how many troops, did you manage to assemble?" he asked, the general smiled and brought his hoof up to the head set that was around his head, "alright captain, bring them out" he said, with a big smile.

They all looked up at the ramp, from which they came out of, and soon after they began to hear the sound of marching, and shortly after, ponies dressed in both guardians armor, and royal guard armor, began marching out, in a straight column.

Silver and his friends, just watched in awe, as the soldiers marched out, in a straight line, right into the town, the general looked at the others, and couldn't help but laugh, at their shocked expressions, and soon the ramp on the other side of the ship began to lower, and more ponies came out, carrying more than just soldiers.

Silver thought he saw giant cannons, being hauled out, he leaned over to his friend, "is that artillery?" he said, clearly surprised, the general laughed and turned to him, "courtesy of the royal guard, you can thank them for the nice little addition" he said, with a large grin, Silver turned back to the soldiers and saw that they were still coming out, he looked over at Striker, "wait a minute, how many soldiers did you manage to bring together?" he asked with a curious look, on his face.

The general thought about it for a moment, he then turned back to Silver, "let's see, we have over 700 hundred soldiers all together" he said with a smile, Silver eyes went wide, they now almost had equal to Shadow's numbers, in the pit of his stomach, Silver actually felt a spark of hope, now they actually had a chance to stand up against the tyrant.

(Canterlot castle, throne room) 2 days later

Shadow Blaze, was impatiently pacing back and forth, he knew that the Guardians are forming an army, and that every day they grew more powerful, deep down, he regretted not handling the situation, when it was still amusing, now it was becoming a real problem.

He heard the door open, and a pony walk in, he turned around and saw his apprentice, walking up to him, "they're here sir" he said, with a frown, Shadow sighed, and looked up, "very well, bring him in" he said, Night Wing looked back, and motioned for the guards to open the doors.

After they did, two familiar ponies walked into the room, dressed in armor, Shadow turned around, and saw the Prophet and Rage walking into the room, Night Wing looked up at his master, "they are all assembled, and waiting for you my lord" he said , before he left the room, leaving the three ponies alone.

"so, I'm sure you have been made aware, that our enemies, are gathering an army of their own, it will be your responsibility to stop these foals, can you do it?" he said the last part, with a raised eyebrow, the Prophet and Rage looked at each other, with a smile, and turned back to him.

They nodded, and looked back up at him, "we will destroy them" the Prophet said, Shadow smiled, "very well then" if you will follow me, he said as his horn began to glow, suddenly they were enveloped in a bright flash, and they reappeared shortly after.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves, in different part of the castle, the first thing they heard was the sound of cheering and applause, they saw Shadow and Night Wing, standing over a balcony, he looked back, and motioned for them to step forward, and when they did, they found themselves, on the balcony, overlooking the castle courtyard.

But that's not what amazed them; it was the hundreds of ponies standing there, all cheering their leader's name, "hail! Shadow Blaze!" they heard the crowd say, they looked up at Shadow Blaze, and saw the huge smile on his face, he raised his hoof in the air, and the crowd fell dead silent.

"my loyal soldiers" he started by saying, the crowd was listening intently, as he spoke, "these cowards, known as the Guardians, will hide no more!" he said, but still they all remained silent, "by this time tomorrow, we will have destroyed them all!" he said, and it was then that the crowd started cheering.

Suddenly, he threw his hoof up in the air, "to war!" he yelled, over the crowd, by now the crowd was in a frenzy, all of them ready to kill, ready to die, for their leader.

Shadow Blaze, lowered his hoof, and said very quietly to him, so that no other pony would hear him, not even those next to him.

"But the elements are mine"

**A/N: wow, that was pretty intense for the first chapter, well see you next time, hope you enjoyed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: yes, I'm back with the next chapter; let's see how this will go on.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 2: Final preparations**

After their reinforcements arrived, Silver and the others, spent the next two days planning out the defense, right now, they had up to 800 hundred soldiers, all ready to fight to their cause.

But Silver, had other things to talk about, especially with Twilight and her friends, as he searched all over camp for them, he finally found them in the middle of camp, talking amongst each other, and laughing, he hated to be the one to ruin their special time, but this was not the time to play.

"Twilight, Flame, I need to speak with you and your friends, I you will please follow me" he said walking away, the others just gave each other worried glances, and got up to follow him.

They found themselves walking into his tent, when they all entered; they saw him, standing over a desk with another map on it, at first he didn't speak, so Flame decided too.

"Aren't you going to tell us, why you called us here?" Flame asked, Silver sighed and turned around, "I called you here, because it's time we form a plan to stop Shadow Blaze" he said with a serious look, the tent fell silent, as he continued.

"this is what I think is the best plan, we will have to sneak into Canterlot, and make our way through the castle, and find Shadow Blaze" he said turning back to the map, the others walked over, and stood around it, "okay, exactly how are we going to get in, we can't just stroll in there, Canterlot is probably swarming with guards" Twilight said, in a matter of fact tone.

Silver looked over at her, and then back to the map, "we'll sneak in, using this" he said, as he placed a small necklace shaped object on the desk, they all looked it over, but saw nothing unique about it, to them it was just a normal necklace, but that's where they were wrong.

"Okay, so it's a necklace, how exactly is that going to help us?" Flame asked, picking it up with his magic and looking it over, "oh it's more than that, our scientists have been working on this technology for years, this little thing could transport any amount of ponies, to anywhere, within a 200 mile radius, it could transport us, all the way into the castle courtyard, and from there, we fight until we reach Shadow Blaze" Silver said, with a surprisingly sorrowful expression.

"Silver, there's something you aren't telling us" Twilight asked, looking him up and down, Silver only sighed and turned away, he walked over to the other side of the tent, while the others just watched him, "tomorrow will be the day, that you use the gifts you have been given to stop Shadow, once and for all" he said, but he still didn't turn around, leaving the others confused.

"it will be very dangerous, I…I can't promise that all of you will return, in one piece" he said turning back to face them, he saw the solemn look in their eyes, Twilight stepped forward, and spoke, "I think that I speak for all of us Silver, when I say, that we will do whatever it takes to stop him" she said in a brave voice, all the others nodded in agreement.

Silver smiled, and turned to Flame, who had a suspicious look on his face, "Flame, I don't know how to say this" he said, but was stopped by Flame, raising his hoof.

"no Silver, while I agree with this plan of yours completely, I have one condition" he said walking past him and up to Twilight, he turned around, and stood next to Twilight, "I go with you" he said as he wrapped his hoof around her shoulder, Silver was about to protest, but again Flame stopped him.

"Silver listen, where she goes, I go, especially if it's dangerous" he said looking over at her, she just looked at him, and smiled at him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Silver was about to say something, but stopped himself, he knew he couldn't win, even though they hadn't known each other for very long, he knew that Flame was stubborn, he just sighed and turned to them, and nodded.

Flame and Twilight, as well as the other all smiled, "okay then, but you should all get some rest, for tomorrow…well I don't think you need me to tell you how important tomorrow is" he said as they all slowly exited the tent, and made their way to their own tents.

(Canterlot castle, dungeon)

Celestia and Luna, had been kept in the same condition, since Shadow's last visit, but to their surprise, they had been given more food, and were treated better than they would think, especially since, Celestia had brought back, painful memories for all three of them, and now it was about time for Shadow's visit, and they had gotten used to him not coming down, but this time it was different.

The door to the dungeon, swung open, and in walked Shadow Blaze and Night Wing, with smiles on their faces, "ah yes, my two favorite ponies in the world, my apologies for not attending to you, in a personal matter, I hope you are enjoying yourselves" he said as they walked up to the cage, both of them just glared at him angrily.

"you could say that" Luna answered in a completely sarcastic tone, Shadow smiled as he approached the bars, "well then, I have some news that might please you, it appears that my previous general, was more incompetent than I thought, and allowed your student to get away, and I recently received reports that they have returned to the town of PonyVille" he said, this particular comment, got Celestia's attention.

"apparently, they have somehow mustered any army of their own, but no matter this little problem will be dealt with soon enough, and I'm sure that they will be here eventually to free you and challenge me, you can only pray that they make it past the cities defenses" he said, as he lowered his head down, in front of Celestia's, she just stared back at him.

He brought his head back up, and slowly made his way back to the door, when Celestia spoke up again, "you won't stop them, Twilight Sparkle and her friends, are more powerful than you can think of, their bond with each other is strong" she said, Shadow smiled, and turned his head back to her.

"I hope you are right, I do enjoy a good challenge, and as for their bond, well let's just say all good thing eventually come to an end" he said as he laughed and walked out the door, that slammed behind him, leaving the two princess's alone.

Luna got up and walked over to her sister, "Tia, we can't just sit here, and do nothing, we have to find a way to help them" she said, Celestia just turned to her younger sister, "I'm sorry Luna, but there isn't much we can do to help, we just have to have faith in Twilight, they had done many great things, all we can do is hope" she said with a solemn look on her face.

**A/N: hmm, this chapter was definitely shorter than I expected, sorry about that, but don't worry, everything will get better in the next chapter, as they prepare for the final battle.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: well, here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 3: the silence before the storm**

After his talk with twilight and her friends, Silver ordered for all the soldiers, to rest up, they received word from their scouts that Shadow's army, was only a day away, and all the ponies grew more and more nervous.

It was later that night, and all the ponies were fast asleep, they had spent time with their families, the camp was dead silent, as all the ponies fell into deep sleep, all except one.

Dark Star found that he couldn't sleep; all he could do was stare at the top of his tent, so he had decided to take a walk, and sneak out of camp, he walked off into the forest, but little did he know that, he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep, he was secretly being followed by an orange pony.

After an hour of walking through the trees and up steep hills, Dark Star found himself, standing in front of a familiar place, a place that both relaxed him and terrified him, he stood in front of the Wolf Pack's old stronghold, still the same as they had left it when they were forced to flee, from their home.

He sighed sadly, as he made his way into the mountain, he found him selves walking through the large halls, and the ground was covered with broken pieces of stone, dust, and glass.

As he continued her passed by a specific room, one that brought terrible memories, he opened the doors and walked into the main chamber, he looked up and saw the grave and statue of his beloved, he sighed again and walked up to it, and when he got up to it, he sat at the end of the grave.

He felt some tears appear in his eyes, "I don't believe I ever got the chance to say a proper goodbye" he said as he looked up, and saw the bouquet of flowers and the picture he had placed on the grave, the flowers had wilted, and the picture was cracked and covered with dust, the tears came like a waterfall.

"I would have given anything to trade places with you," he said as he wiped the tears away, he looked up and remembered all the good times, he smiled and chuckled to himself, "the others miss you, especially Meadow, you should see her now, she's met a nice young stallion, they make a cute couple" he said as he got up and walked over to the grave stone.

He leaned over and gently kissed it, "goodbye Rose, I'll miss you" he said, as he was about to turn around, but he suddenly heard the sound of pebbles being kicked across the ground, and a pony silently cursing to themselves, he instantly knew who it was, he got up, but didn't turn around.

"I know you are there AJ, you shouldn't be here, you should be back at camp, resting" he said as he turned around, he saw a familiar orange mare step out from the shadows, she had a nervous look on her face, she walked over to him with her head down, "ah am sorry, ah shouldn't have followed you" she said as she walked up to him, he couldn't help but smile.

"this isn't the place for you, I couldn't sleep tonight, so I came here" he said turning back to the statue, she smiled, and looked at him, "ah guess I couldn't sleep too, so ah stepped out for some fresh air, and ah saw you sneaking off" she said, with a sheepish smile, she then turned to the statue in front of them.

"So was that your mare friend?" she asked as she stepped up next to him, he smiled, and nodded, "yeah, that's her" he said, he looked away as he felt tears start to form in his eyes, Applejack noticed this, and turned to him with a worried look on her face, "I'm fine, it's just being here after so long, it…it brings back a lot of memories" he said, as he turned and sat down.

Applejack heard him sobbing, to himself quietly; she sat down next to him, and placed a hoof on his shoulder, he looked up and wiped the tears away, "you know the one thing I didn't tell you, was that, right before she died, she told me that…that she was…pregnant" he said as he tried to hold the tears back.

Applejack quietly gasped but, she knew she couldn't get mad at him, for not telling her, not after all he had been through, he slowly began to cry again, Applejack couldn't stand to see him like that, she slowly pulled him into a hug, at first he was surprised, but he slowly wrapped his hooves around her, and cried into her shoulder, Applejack could feel the tears hitting her shoulder.

She put her hoof to the back of his head, and tried to calm him down, they stayed like that for a few minutes, before they decided to leave, they got up and slowly made their way out, and from there, they made their way back to the camp.

(Meanwhile…)

Back at camp, Silver was asleep in his tent, but that night he couldn't sleep, he tossed and turned in his bed, but couldn't seem to find a good position to fall asleep.

Not until after an hour of doing this, did he finally find a comfortable position, he slowly drifted off into sleep, and his head filled with dreams.

(Silver's dream)

"_Silver…"_

Silver heard his name being called, but being as tired as he was, he tried to ignore it, but soon it became more persistent.

"_Silver…wake up"_

The voice seemed a little louder now, but Silver was determined to sleep, but then it said something that surprised him, more than anything.

"_Silver…wake up, my son"_

When he heard that, his eyes shot open and he found himself, no longer back in his tent, instead he saw nothing, nothing but an infinite empty white space.

He turned his head to the side, he saw a set of hooves standing in front of him, and he followed the hooves up to the pony's face, and saw a pony he never thought he would see again.

"Father…is that you" he said getting up, the pony just chuckled, and helped him up, and when Silver was fully standing, he looked up and came to eye level with his father, making the older one surprised, _"well, you have grown"_ he said, Silver didn't answer, he just threw his hooves around the older ones neck, and hugged him.

Tears spilled from his eyes, "father, I thought I'd never see you again" he said, his father just chuckled, _"I've always been here Silver, you just never noticed me"_ he said, as they pulled apart, "but…how?" he asked, and a sad expression appeared on his father's face, _"sadly…this is nothing more than a dream"_ he said, with a sorrowful look on his face.

"_but, I have one last lesson to teach you, the war is starting, it will be your job to lead them"_ he said, Silver's smile disappeared and he turned away, "but father…what if I can't do it" he said, looking down, he felt his father's hoof on his shoulder, he turned around and saw his father smiling at him_, "you can Silver, it is what I trained you for, you have lead the Guardians for the past seven years, you are more capable, than any other pony" _he said, but Silver still wasn't convinced.

"But…they need a leader who is fearless, I am not without fear" he said, looking away, Silver's father just chuckled, _"without fear, there is no courage, but now, it is your enemies who should be afraid"_ he said, with a smile, Silver looked at him, with a frown.

"But what if I mess up?" he said, but then he got an answer he wasn't expecting, _"you won't, we have faith in you" _came a female voice from behind, one that he instantly recognized, and that he believed he wouldn't hear again.

He slowly turned around, and standing in front of him, was the very pony that, he cared most about, "S-Sapphire, is that you?" he said as his eyes filled with tears, she simply smiled, he turned around completely, and ran straight to her, and when he did he wrapped his hooves tightly around her neck, as tears came from his eyes, "I thought I'd never see you again" he said, as they stayed like that, for what seemed like hours.

Suddenly his eyes shot open, and they separated, "wait, if this is a dream, that means you-" he said, Sapphire, looked down sadly, and then looked back at him, and nodded.

He quickly pulled her into another hug, and whispered into her ear, "I'd give anything to take your place, it should have been me, not you" he said as they pulled a part, and looked into each other's eyes, she frowned, _"no Silver, don't talk like that, they need you now especially Comet and Blazing Star…don't mourn the past, my love, just knowing that you will live on, and live a happy life is enough for me"_ she said with a happy look on her face.

He placed a hoof on her face, she smiled and grabbed it, they stared into each other's eyes, for a few minutes, _"you can do it Silver, we have faith in you, but you must have faith in yourself, we will be with you, all the time…I never got the chance to say goodbye…close your eyes"_ she said, Silver did just that and closed his eyes, at first he felt nothing happen but then he felt something press against his lips, he didn't open his eyes, but he felt her kiss him, he leaned into it, and soon after they separated, and he felt her lean up to his ear, and whisper something.

"_goodbye, my love, I will always be with you"_ he heard her say, he decided at that point to open his eyes, and when he did she was gone, there was no sign, of his beloved wife, he quickly turned around, and saw that his father was gone as well, he suddenly felt himself get dizzy, and he fell to the floor.

(Reality)

Silver opened his eyes, and found himself safe in his bed, he sighed sadly and got out of bed, the final words of his wife, still echoing off in his head.

He looked to the end of the tent and saw a faint sign of light coming into it, he remembered that he told the soldiers to be up before dawn, so they could prepare, and that is what they were doing.

He put on his cloak, and walked outside, he saw all the ponies waking up, getting ready, some still eating breakfast, other putting on their armor, and sharpening their knives.

After he had eaten breakfast, he decided to go and oversee the preparations, he stood on the side of town square, and watched, as the soldiers hauled the large artillery cannons to the edge of town, and the other ponies suiting up, but he couldn't help but notice the looks on their faces.

He heard multiple sets of hooves, approaching, he didn't need to turn to know who it was, "they don't seem, very motivated" he heard Flame say, he sighed, and turned to them.

"your right, I'll be back" he said as he made his way to town hall, he stepped up onto the steps, and stood in front of the crowd, even though most ponies didn't notice him, but he still wanted to say a few words.

He got their attention by clearing his throat, loud enough for the crowd to hear, they all stopped what they were doing, and turned to face him, they just stared at him.

Twilight and her friends, hear him, and were surprised to see him up there, they stopped what they were doing, and faced him, as soon as he believed he had all of their attention, he began to speak.

"My friends, I am up here before you, because I would like to say a few words, before we get to work" he said, the crowd was all gathered around the front of the town hall at this point, all paying full attention, he cleared his throat again, and sighed, before he started his speech.

"My friends, we are gathered here because, we are once again fighting for our freedom, but not just our own, we are fighting for the freedom of every creature on this planet" he said, while the crowd simply listened.

"Shadow Blaze will stop at nothing until he controls every kingdom, every country, we are the last one's that can stop him, it is up to us to put an end to his reign" he said, with confidence, so he continued.

"Now many of us have suffered, many of us have lost family members, but we cannot let them die in vain, if we do not stop him, nopony else will" he said as the crowd began to show murmurs of agreement, he smiled slightly and still continued.

"even now, while his army comes closer, they underestimate us, why, because we are citizens of Equestria, and we will not go out without a fight, we will not go quietly into the night, fight for your families, fight for your children, fight for your honor, and most of all fight for your kingdom!" he said, yelling the last part, most of the crowd, began to cheer.

Twilight and her friends, just listened to his speech, and as he continued, "I say if we have to give these bastards our lives, we give them a fight they will never forget!" he said, and this time all of the crowd, threw their hooves up into the air, "now who's with me!" he yelled at the top of his voice, all of the soldiers pumped their hooves into the air, and cheered.

Silver stood at the top of the steps and watched as they cheered, he slowly stepped down, and made his way through the crowd, who were still cheering, he made his way to twilight and her friends, they all had shocked and happy expressions on their faces.

"well, that was some speech, it look like it worked" flame said with a smile, "Silver had a half serious face, half happy face, as he turned to Twilight, "it's time my friends, we need to get ready, go find my uncle, he will have your armor ready" he said as he made his way back to is tent.

As Silver entered his tent he, walked over to a certain chest, and brushed everything on it off, he opened it, and was met with a cloud of dust, he looked inside and saw a gleaming set of armor, worn only by the Grand Master in a time of war.

He took out all the pieces, and placed them on the ground, he got up and took the main chest piece out and wrapped it around his body, when he was young he was taught how to dress himself in armor, he slid it over him and tightened it.

The next he did was take out the front leg plating, and using his magic he placed them on the front of his legs and tightened them, next he took out the knife, his primary weapon, he fastened the sheath to his side, and took out the blade, it seemed to glisten in the light, as he observed it, he ran his hoof over the edge, it was sharp enough to cut through anything.

And finally he took out the war paint, he placed his hoof into it, and began to spread it across his face, and so he took out the last part, the helmet, he looked into the front of it, and sighed as he slowly placed it over his head.

He slowly stepped out of his tent, and walked over to the center of camp, he noticed all of the other soldiers staring at him, when he came into the middle of camp, he saw Twilight and her friends, all dressed in golden armor, that had been fitted to their size.

He looked over and saw Shining Armor in the royal guard armor set, as well as the other officers, that were a part of the royal guard, he saw that Flame was dressed in the same kind of armor as Twilight, when he walked over to them with a smile on his face, "well, you all look good in your armor, but appearance isn't the best part, this armor will save your life" he said, as he looked to his side, and saw Dark Star and his friends, walking up to them, Dark Star and his friends, were all wearing their own armor, most of them had knife holsters, except for Beltway, he had two large scimitar sheaths on the back of his.

He turned to the other side and saw his uncle and his son walking up to him, he noticed the sad look in his son's eyes.

As soon as they were all gathered up, he began to give them their orders, "alright, Shining Armor, Dark Star, and Cadence will be in charge of the air ships, when the enemy arrives with theirs, it will be a fair fight" he said with a serious look in his eyes.

Then he turned to his family, "Uncle, Comet, and Striker, you will be in charge of our ground forces, " he said and then, final he turned back to Twilight and her friends, "and the rest of us, we will go to Canterlot and find Shadow Blaze, where we will stop him once and for all" he said, as a solemn look appeared on his face.

"this is the moment most of us have been waiting for, if we don't all come back, I will be the first to say that, it's been an honor serving with you all, now let's get this done" he said as they all went their separate ways, but not before sharing one last moment with their families.

Silver turned around and saw Twilight and Shining Armor hugging each other, "take care of yourself Twiley, and come back in one piece" he said with a tear falling down his cheek, Twilight smiled, "I should say the same for you" she said as a tear fell from her eyes, Flame stepped forward, and Shining Armor, turned to him.

"I will protect her with my life, you have my word" he said as he extended out his hoof, instead of shaking it, Shining Armor just pulled him into a hug, which caught Flame off-guard, they separated and looked at each other, "I know you will, but just in case, I am honored to call you my brother-in-law" he said before he turned back to Twilight, who had tears in her eyes, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, before he turned and walked away, followed by his wife.

Silver couldn't help but feel sad at this, he turned around, and saw his uncle holding his helmet, he walked over to them with a smile, he grabbed his helmet, "this is it Silver, your father would be so proud of you" he said, Silver just smiled, "I know, thank you uncle, for everything" he said as he hugged the older stallion, as soon as they separated, Silver noticed tears in his uncle's eyes.

"Stay safe, and remember your training" he said, Silver nodded, and turned to his son, who had saddened expression on his face, "please dad, don't do this, I can't stand to lose you too" he said, as a tear fell from his eyes, Silver smiled and brought his hoof up and wiped them away.

"Listen Comet, I have to do this, you need to be strong, for me…and your mother" he said as he pulled the younger unicorn into a hug, as soon as they let go, "I will come back, I promise" he said as he walked away, followed by his Uncle, he turned to him, "uncle promise that…if anything should happen to me, that you will take care of Comet and Blazing Star" he said, Sky Breeze just nodded, "I will, but let's find out what happens before we say stuff like that" said, as they said one last goodbye, Sky Breeze turned and walked back to Comet.

Silver turned and joined Twilight and her friends, he took out the necklace, and placed it on the floor, he took one last look at his family, before he pressed his hoof down, a low rumbling was heard, as the eight of them, became shrouded in a white flash, that made the other cover their eyes, and soon it stopped, and so when they looked, they saw no trace of them.

Sky Breeze sighed sadly, and turned away, Comet stayed in his spot, before he shook out of it, and walked away, now it was time to move the troops into place, the pieces were set, and it was only a matter of time, before either side made the first move.

**A/N: well, that was epic, I even got a little teary eyed, while writing the last few paragraphs, well in the next chapter the battle will begin, see you then.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: well, this is it, this is the chapter where the final battle begins, hope you all enjoy.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 4: the battle begins**

After they had said their goodbyes, Twilight and her friends, had appeared in a bright white flash, due to the brightness they had to let their eyes adjust, before they could look around, and when they did, the sight before them, shocked the all.

Standing right in front of them, was the castle itself, they were surprised to see it in great condition, when they looked around them, they saw that they were standing in the middle of castle courtyard, but what really surprised them, was that, there was no sign of life aside from them, the courtyard was completely abandoned.

"What no welcoming party, where is everpony" Flame asked looking around, Silver felt the same way, "I don't know, they must be in the castle, or Shadow sent every available soldier to PonyVille" he said as he slowly walked forward, and turned back to them.

"Okay, here's the plan, we make our way to the throne room, Shadow has to be there, and we take out as many guards along the way as we can" he said before he started running into the castle, the other quickly followed.

(Inside the castle)

As they ran through the many halls, they found no trace of guards anywhere, and it made them more and more suspicious, but they still didn't take any chances, they did what they could to move quietly, until they reached the throne room.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of sneaking through the halls, they found themselves, only two doors away from the throne room, as they opened the door, they saw nothing more than another long hallway, and at the end of it was the door that lead to the throne room.

They walked slowly down the hall, being very cautious, Silver had the feeling that they were being watched, when they were less than halfway into the room, Silver held up his hoof, and the other stopped behind him, he looked around, with a careful eye, "what is it?" Twilight asked, with fear in her voice.

At first he didn't answer, but he did after a few minutes, "we are not alone here" he said, and just as he did, they all heard laughter coming from around them, "how clever of you, normally I am undetectable" said a deep male voice, that didn't seem to have an origin.

Silver stepped forward, with an angry look on his face, deep down he had a pretty good idea, as to who it was, and he got his answer, when all of a sudden, a figure dropped down from the shadows, that covered the ceiling, and a few feet in front of them.

He got up from his landing position, and stood up straight; he reached up, and pulled off his hood, revealing a pony that both twilight and Silver knew all too well.

"You!" Silver said with an angry look on his face, Night Wing just smiled, and turned his attention to him, "so you must be, Grand Master Silver Heart, It is an honor" he said faking a bow, this only made Silver angrier.

The other all got into a fighting position, and were about to charge, until Silver held up his hoof again, stopping them, they all gave him confused looks, he turned his head back to them, "you go on ahead, I'll handle him" Silver said angrily, the other's all gave him concerned glances, "don't worry about me, you need to go, stop Shadow Blaze, before it's too late" he said as he walked forward.

The others slowly made their way around them, as Silver and Night Wing began to circle each other, and when given the chance, Twilight and the others, made a run for the final door.

During that time, Silver and Night Wing, continued to circle each other, "very bold of you, to send them away, and fight me yourself, your either very brave or very foolish" he said, Silver's expression didn't change, "it doesn't matter, I have a personal score to settle with you" Silver said slowly, this somewhat caught Night Wing by surprise.

"Really, now what might I have done, to earn such a personal vendetta from you" he said acting like he didn't know what Silver was talking about, this only made Silver angrier.

"you killed my wife, and hurt my son" he said, in a threatening tone, Night Wing stopped and brought his hoof up to his chin, as if he was thinking about it, "it is possible, but I have killed so many ponies in my life, what was her name?" he said with curiosity in his voice.

Silver didn't feel the need to answer, they just started to circle each other, suddenly Night Wing's eyes widened, and his smile grew wider, "ah yes, I remember her now, her name was Sapphire am I correct, yes she was a very skilled fighter for a mare, I finally thought I had found a pony who could best me in a duel, but like all other times, they end up failing miserably, I can't understand why she saved your son, he was pathetic and weak" he said, and all the time, Silver was getting angrier and angrier.

"but who knows, maybe you will prove better" he said as they stopped, "enough of your talk, lets finish this" he said, Night Wing smiled, "very well then, I'll let you make the first move" he said, they stopped and stared at each other, before they both began to charge at each other.

(Canterlot castle, outside the throne room)

While Silver kept Night Wing occupied, Twilight and her friends came up to the door, which lead into the throne room, they stopped in front of it, the both sighed heavily, Flame and Twilight, exchanged nervous glances, Flame looked back at the others, who all shared his feelings, "alright, let's do this" he said as he reached up and pushed open the door.

They slowly stepped in, and found the room was very dark, they couldn't see anything at first, then just as it had opened, the door slowly began to close, and lock behind them, then the torches began to light themselves, all the way to the other side of the room, when they turned around, they saw the throne, with a particular alicorn sitting on it.

When they stepped closer, they saw him open his eyes, and look down, when he saw them a wide smile appeared on his face, "ah at last my guests have arrived, please do come in" he said as he stood up, and slowly began walking down the steps, "such determination to get here, I hope it was all worth it" he said, as he came down and slowly walked up to them, Flame stepped in front of the others, and took out his crossbow, and loaded it.

This made Shadow stop in his place, "Shadow stop this, there are many lives at risk" Flame said, having his weapon at the ready, Shadow only chuckled to himself, "you know Flame, I plan on rebuilding this world, making it a better place to live, where we can all be safe and happy" he said, as he walked over to the window, and looked out at the small town of PonyVille, off in the distance.

Flame still ad the crossbow pointed at Shadow, "you know, some other pony, told me the same thing, and yet he was killing innocent ponies, because he felt like it" he said, Shadow just sighed, "let's not fight, there is no need to shed blood, if you order your army to surrender, I will order mine to spare their lives, you have my word" he said as he turned back, and walked in front of them.

Flame lowered the crossbow, and looked over at Twilight, who was standing next to him, she looked over at him, Flame looked away, and sighed, he slowly walked up to Shadow, with his head down, Shadow smiled as he did that, but suddenly Flame looked up, and angry look in his eyes, he brought the crossbow up and pulled the trigger.

Shadow saw this and reacted fast, his horn glowed, as he disappeared into nothing, Flame's eyes went wide, as he hurried to reload, he also kept an eye out for Shadow, suddenly he heard a familiar cry from behind, he turned around sharply, with the crossbow at the ready, but he saw no sign of Shadow Blaze, all he saw was his wife and friends, but something else, he saw them trapped inside a barrier.

He panicked an ran up to it, he could see the scared look in all their eyes, he reached up and placed his hoof on the barrier, only to bet met with an intense pain of electricity, he cried out in pain, as he was pushed back a few feet.

Then he heard Shadow Blaze laughing, he turned to the side, and saw Shadow standing there, with an amused look on his face, Flame felt his anger boil, he pulled out the crossbow, and again pulled the trigger, but instead of moving Shadow Blaze remained perfectly still, eventually the arrow struck him in the leg.

Flame smiled at that fact, that he got a hit, but was surprised when Shadow looked down and, reached his hoof up, and simply pulled the arrow out, like it was nothing, Flame watched as the wound closed itself, Shadow looked up with a sinister grin on his face, as he threw the arrow to the side, he laughed, and started walking towards him.

"Did you really think, that something like that could harm me, I am invincible!" he shouted the last part, as an angry look on his face appeared, Flame reacted by dropping the crossbow, Shadow leaned down, and his horn glowed brightly, Flame realized this, and readied his magic, just in time to see a large blast of black energy, come from his horn.

Flame immediately, used his magic to create a barrier of his own, but not being a strong or as quick as Shadow, the blast collided with the shield, and it instantly shattered, and sent Flame straight into the wall, Twilight cried out in fear as Flame hit the wall at full force, enough to break his back, he fell to the floor, and didn't move, Shadow just stood there smiling, as Flame remained unmoving.

(Outside ponyVille)

As the sun was higher in the sky, the Guardians army, was ready to fight, all 800 hundred soldiers under their command, were lined up right outside the town, waiting for the enemy to appear.

They all waited in silence, the wind, blowing across the field outside the town, the flag blowing in the wind, the artillery cannons sat there waiting to fire, all the soldiers stared across the field, to edge of the Everfree forest, they had received word that the enemy had set up their camp there, and were marching now.

Comet and Sky Breeze stood in the front of the army, while Night Shadow and Beltway stood next to them, suddenly they heard the flapping of wings, and one of the pegasi soldiers landed right next to Sky Breeze, he seemed out of breath, "their coming my lord, in numbers greater than our own" he said, Sky Breeze looked over at him.

"Numbers do not win a battle" he said, Comet had a worried look on his face, "no, but they sure do help" he said as the soldier returned to the rest, then off in the distance, they began to hear the sound of trumpets and marching hooves.

Then out of the darkness of the trees, came the enemy, their numbers looked small, but as more poured out of the forest, they began to realize that the soldiers was right, they did have more troops, but they wouldn't let that get to them.

Sky Breeze and Comet looked at each other, and back at Night Shadow and Beltway, they all nodded and began walking out into the field, all of it a part of their plan.

On the other side of the field, the leader was looking through the telescope, when his captain came up to him, he watched as the four ponies walked out into the middle of the filed, "perhaps they intend to surrender" the captain said, the leader lowered the telescope, and turned to him, "no there much to noble for that" he said as he looked him straight in the eye, "captain Storm Lash, ready a small group, let's go and find out", he said as the Pegasus walked away.

As the four of them waited, they saw that the leader of the army, was walking toward them, with only a hoofull of troops, with him, they watched as he walked up to them, and they stood their facing each other, "which one of you is the commander?" one of the soldier said, being the one of highest rank, Comet stepped forward, surprising all of them.

"I am, my name is Comet, son of the Grand Master" he said proudly, the soldier turned back to Rage with a confused look, Rage just motioned for him to continue, "well then, may I be the first to congratulate you, Lord Comet, you sure have turned such a calamity, into a victory, they surely are a formidable fighting force, one that Lord Shadow Blaze could use in his army" he said, Comet just remained still, and stared at him, "however, let us not waste time, shedding blood, the master, has offered for you to surrender, and your lives will be spared, you can live your life to the fullest, if only you kneel" he said, with a stern look on his face.

Comet just stood there, thinking about what the soldier said, he stayed like that for a few minutes, the soldiers glanced back at Rage, comet just relaxed his tense body, he sighed heavily, and slowly reached up and took off his helmet, and placed it next to him, he wiped the sweat of his forehead, and looked back at the soldier.

He took a quick glance at Rage, and the captain, he again just sighed heavily, he slowly lowered his head, and got in a bowing position, Rage looked on with a smile, Comet stayed like that and closed his eyes, he remembered what his father told him, to be strong, and that is exactly what he intended to do.

His eyes shot open, "Beltway now!" he shouted, and when he did, he felt weight on his back, he immediately got up, and saw Beltway land in front of him, one of his scimitar's unsheathed, before the soldier could react, Beltway pushed his scimitar forward, and it pierced into the soldiers chest, he immediately pulled it out, as well as his other one and got in an offensive position.

The soldier immediately fell to the ground dead, as the other were killed, Rage and the Captain were surprised, but they reacted quickly, the captain took off into the air, and flew back to the rest of the soldiers, while Rage used his magic, to transport there.

Comet looked up, and turned to Beltway, they both nodded, and used their magic to teleport them back to their troops, when Rage appeared he ran forward, with an enraged look on his face, "SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!" he shouted, and ran forward, the rest of his troops, yelled and followed him.

When they appeared back in front, they turned and saw the enemy army charging forward, Sky Breeze turned forward, he raised his hoof up to the head set that he was wearing, "ARTILERY…" he said, as the army grew closer, he threw his hoof forward, "FIRE!" he shouted into the head set, and shortly after the air was filled with the roar of cannon fore, as the cannons fired off.

They watched as the army grew closer, Rage stopped in his place, but the army kept going, he heard the canons go off, "artillery incoming, shield's up!" he shouted, and used his magic to create a protective barrier around him, all the other unicorns under his command did the same.

Comet and Sky Breeze watched, and soon the shells made impact, creating large explosions on their side of the field, as well as large holes in the ground, unfortunately they only had five cannons, and could only fire off the shells each, "cease fire!" Sky Breeze yelled into the head set.

And just as he did, the cannons, stopped but the enemy didn't, unfortunately, with most of the soldiers on the enemy's side, most of them were unicorns and were saved by their shields, so the army was still a major threat.

Sky Breeze turned to the front row of soldiers, "crossbows at the ready!" he yelled, and all of them stepped forward, and lowered their crossbows, at least two rows of the six had crossbows, plus those up in the ruined buildings had crossbows, Sky Breeze held his hoof up.

And as soon as they were in range, he threw his hoof forward, "FIRE AT WILL!" he shouted, and one by one all the archers fired off, with over three hundred arrows in the sky, they watched as it rained down on the enemy, and just as they predicted, it took out the entire first row, and some behind them.

Comet stepped up next to Sky Breeze, and watched as the army grew closer, "this is it, are you with me?" he asked looking over at Sky Breeze, he turned and looked at him, a serious look on his face, "to the death" he said Comet smiled, and looked forward.

His smile disappeared, as he put on his helmet, and tightened it, he turned back to the other soldiers, "remember your training, remember what you fight for, and never give up!" he said, and he got multiple cheers from the soldiers, he turned back to the oncoming enemy force.

He unsheathed his knife, and pumped it in the air, "for Equestria, and for Princess Celestia!" shouted, and charged forward, Sky Breeze shouted and ran with him, and soon all the soldiers behind him were charging with him.

The battle had finally begun.

**A/N: wow, that was pretty intense, the final battle is underway, come back next time to see what happens next.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: like I said, here's the next chapter, let us read, as the battle continues.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 5: a kingdom at war**

Flame cried out in pain, as he hit the wall at full force, he fell to the ground, with a heavy thud, the blast left his dazed, he tried to get up, but found he couldn't focus, he could hear the faint sound of his wife calling out to him.

His eyes finally adjusted, and he looked up, and saw Shadow Blaze, walking towards him slowly, a sinister grin on his face, despite the pain that racked his body, Flame pushed him up, and focused on the task in front of him.

He looked up and saw Shadow walking closer, when he fully regained his focus he, reached over and pulled out his knife, he used his magic to grip it, and got in a charging position, when Shadow saw this he stopped, and chuckled to himself, "come now, do you really think you can beat me?" he said, Flame's anger grew as he, listened to shadow mocking him.

Finally, Flame had heard enough; he yelled as he charged forward, his knife at the ready, Shadow stood perfectly still, and when Flame was a few feet away, he jumped into the air, time seemed to slow down, as he jumped at Shadow.

When he was a few inches away, Shadow reached up, and grabbed Flame by the throat, stopping his jump, in midair, Shadow then used the momentum from Flame's jump, and spun, around, and threw Flame at the ground, again Flame cried out in pain, as he skidded across the floor, and hit the wall, on the other side of the room.

He immediately shook it off, and stood back up, and faced Shadow who was again just standing there, with an amused look on his face.

Flame felt the slightest hint of liquid falling down from his lip; he brushed it away, and looked at it, and saw that it was blood, he just wiped it off on his armor, which was in worse condition than it was before, it now had burn marks on it, and was scraped up, it no longer held it's shine.

Twilight and her friends could only watch helplessly, as the two fought it out, suddenly Shadow began chuckling, "is this the best you can do, I haven't even broken a sweat, you should just give up, it would spare you a gruesome death" he said, Flame just stared at him, with an enraged look on his face, "no, I won't give up, I won't give up!" he said as he leaned down and shot a beam of energy from the tip of his horn.

It flew straight at Shadow, whose smile completely disappeared, instead of disappearing, he just raised his hoof up, the blast collided with him, and created a large clouds of smoke, and as soon as it cleared, it revealed Shadow behind a large barrier, he lowered his hoof, and looked over to Flame, who was no longer there.

He suddenly heard yelling, and looked up, he saw Flame coming straight at him, with his knife drawn and an enraged look on his face, Shadow's eyes widened as jumped to the side, time again seemed to slow, and just as Shadow moved out of the way, the tip of Flame's blade, narrowly cut along Shadow's side.

Flame landed on the ground and turned around, he saw Shadow clutching his side; a pained look on his face, Shadow brought his hoof in front of him, and examined it, the faintest hint of blood on it, for a moment he looked surprised, he looked up at Flame, and saw the smile on his face.

His shocked expression was replaced by an angry one, "impressive, such power, but it's going to take a lot more than that to stop me" he said as he placed his hoof back on the ground, and again Flame watched as the wound seemed to close itself.

They both stared at each other, for a few minutes, now it was Shadow's turn to yell out and charge at Flame, Flame again unsheathed his knife and charged forward yelling as well.

(Outside the throne room)

Silver cried out in surprise, as he was pushed up against the wall, by Night Wing, and pinned, despite being a very skilled fighter, whatever Silver tried, Night Wing always managed to counter it.

"come on now, Silver, you're supposed to be a skilled fighter, but I've met fillies and colts, who were better at fighting then you" Night Wing said, as he pinned Silver up against the wall, Silver tried to break free, but Night Wing's grip was too strong.

He looked up at him, with an angry look in his eyes, "I am a very skilled fighter" he said as he head butted Night Wing, which caught him by surprise, the blow temporarily dazed Night Wing, as he tried to refocus his vision, he stumbled backwards, releasing Silver.

Silver took this opportunity, and charged forward, he noticed Night Wing swinging his knife wildly, trying to find him, he got close enough, and knocked the knife out of his grasp, and he swung around, and at full speed, brought his hoof straight under Night Wing's chin.

Night Wing cried out in pain, as he stumbled backwards on his back legs, again Silver took advantage of this, and spun around, and with all his might, he bucked Night Wing in the chest, sending him flying into the wall, and creating a large hole, Silver smiled at this.

Until Night Wing, got back up, with a big smile on his face, he laughed loudly, and that is what got Silver confused, "yes that's more like it, finally some excitement" he said a she took off in the air, and flew straight at Silver, but instead of knocking him up against the wall, he grabbed Silver by the end of his armor, and pulled him up in the air, almost to the top.

A sinister grin came on Night Wing's face, Silver could only watch in fear, and in one swift movement, Night Wing dropped Silver, and he came crashing down to the ground, leaving a large hole, Night Wing landed, and waited for the dust to clear, and when it did, he looked in and saw the unmoving form of Silver.

He smiled, and slowly began to walk away, until he heard the sound of moving rubble, he quickly turned around, and was met with an extremely hard punch, that sent him skidding across the floor, and when he looked up, he saw Silver standing over him, with an angry look on his face.

Night Wing got up, and unsheathed his knife, and lashed out at Silver, with a yell, but unfortunately for him, Silver just caught his hoof, and smiled, a shocked expression, "oh, I'll show you excitement" he said as he swung Night Wing around, and threw him across the room.

After he skidded across the ground again, he got back up, with an angry expression on his face, "well, I don't know, how you suddenly became so strong, but even that still isn't enough to beat me" he said as he unsheathed his knife, and pounced at Silver.

(Outside PonyVille)

The sky was filled with the roar of artillery fire, as the battle raged on, despite having the advantage the Guardians were greatly outnumbered, and were losing soldiers left and right, they still hadn't received any news from Shining Armor and Dark Star.

Sky Breeze and Comet made their way through the battle field, taking out any foes, that they came across, even though they could if they wanted too, both of them avoided killing their opponent's, instead they tried to incapacitate them.

Sky Breeze in particular was right in the middle of fighting another enemy soldier, only this one was more difficult because he had a spear, while Sky Breeze only had his knife, despite his old age, he was still an excellent fighter, and could more than handle himself, in any situation with an opponent.

Unfortunately, his opponent wasn't one to play fair, and he took a cheap shot, one that sent Sky Breeze on to his back, he refocused his eyes, and looked up to see, the soldier leaning over him, the spear pointed at his neck, the soldier was about to say something, but was cut off when a large shadow passed over all of them.

Sky Breeze took advantage of the distraction, and kicked the soldier in the stomach, sending him flying a good ten feet away, after he got up, he looked up at the cause of the shadow, and what he saw nearly made his jaw drop to the floor.

The battle field had been covered by the shadow of the enemy air ships, he watched as the air ships open fired, and rained down shell after shell on the field, even taking out some of their own, Sky Breeze watched with disbelief, "may the heavens help us" he said before he turned and saw Comet fighting two opponents at once, Sky Breeze charged forward, and knocked one of them out of the way, just as Comet finished off the other one.

Sky Breeze turned to Comet with an urgent look on his face, "Comet, we need to retreat, get the troops back into the town, we have a better chance of holding them off there!" he yelled over the canon fire, Sky Breeze ran back towards the town, Comet ran forward, where a large portion of their troops were fighting, "retreat!, return to the town!" he yelled, and slowly but surely, all the troops began to make their way back into the town.

Comet looked up, and ran back with them, he reached up to the headset, and started talking, "Meadow, this is Comet, we can't hold them here, we are retreating to the secondary line, get the troops ready!" he yelled into the headset.

Rage was on the other side of the field, when he finally noticed the enemy retreating, "we have them running, crush them all, charge!" he shouted.

(League fleet, commanding ship)

The Prophet, stood in the main flight deck of the commanding ship, he smiled as he watched the fleeing army, he turned to the captain of the ship, "give the order for the cannons to concentrate their fire, on the edge of town, we want to cut them off, as much as possible" he said, the captain nodded, and went over to the intercom, to give the order.

The situation of the battle was not looking good, but even now, the battle was just beginning.

**A/N: well, yes that chapter was short, but don't worry, the next one will get better, I hope you enjoyed.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: well, here is the next chapter, hope you all enjoy.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 6: a losing fight**

As the Guardians, retreated to their secondary fighting position, they were having trouble, avoiding the constant fire from the air ships.

The secondary battle position was located right in front of town square, Comet and Sky Breeze agreed to meet up there, while Comet stayed behind and helped as many wounded soldiers as he can, to get there, being the commander, many of the soldiers didn't want him to, if something happened to him, it would greatly decrease their morale, but comet was doing what he thought was the right thing.

As he made his way there, the secondary line, came into view as he made his way there, when he was only a few yards away, he suddenly heard a scream come from behind, he quickly turned around, and saw one of the soldiers clutching his back leg.

He stopped, and ran back to him, when he got up to him, he saw an arrow lodged into his back leg, "go, leave me here!" the soldier shouted, but that wasn't what comet intended to do, he leaned down, and hauled him onto his back, "no soldier gets left behind" he said as he began running as fast as he could.

He was lucky enough to not get hit by a cannon shell, but as he ran, he couldn't help but look around, time slowed down as he watched building's burn, and other soldiers get knocked into the air, by nearby explosions, these sites would, scar anypony for life.

After a few minutes of running at a slow pace, due to the extra weight on his back, he finally managed to make his back, behind the line, he breathed out heavily, as Meadow and Sky Breeze, ran up to him, "are you okay?" he heard Meadow asked, he looked up at her, "yeah I'm fine, get this soldier a medic, quickly" he said as he got up, "thank you, sir" he heard the soldier say, he looked down at him, and nodded, before he ran back to the front line.

When they got there they saw a whole battalion charging the line, and angry look on his face appeared, "crossbows at the ready!" he shouted, and when he did, all the ponies that had them, stepped out in front of the barrier, and pointed their crossbows at the incoming enemy troops.

Just as he was about to give the order to fire, the air was suddenly filled with the sound of heavy and rapid cannon fire, they all watched as the oncoming troops, were bombarded, with shells, just as they did, he heard a voice speak up, on his headset.

"_Sorry to keep you waiting"_ he heard a familiar voice, they all looked up, and saw another three air ships come in, but on their side this time, they all couldn't help but smile, and all the soldiers began to cheer, "it's about time you got here" Comet said back.

"Okay, Shining Armor, focus your fire power, on the enemy air ships, we will handle the ground troops" he said, as he turned back to the enemy troops, which was now much smaller, "fire!" he yelled, and all the troops who had them, fired all at once.

They all watched as many of the enemy troops in the front row, instantly fell to the ground dead, Comet raised his hoof into the air, "charge!" he said, as soon all the ponies jumped over the barrier, and followed Comet and the others into the heated battle.

After the sudden attack, the enemy troops regrouped and formed another charge, with Rage and the captain standing in front, they all watched with enraged looks, as the Guardians charged forward, Rage looked back, and saw that their numbers were now significantly lower than their enemy's.

He turned to the captain, and nodded, he then looked forward, he yelled and charged forward, the other troops yelled out as well, and charged with him.

(Guardian's fleet, commanding ship)

After Shining Armor, received his orders from Comet, he turned to the captain, "you heard him, give the order for all cannons to concentrate fire on all enemy ships, let's shoot them out of the sky" he said, the captain, nodded and walked over to the intercom, which was linked to the other ships.

After they received their orders, all the soldiers below deck, stopped firing on the enemy troops below, and refocused their attention to the other ships.

(League fleet, commanding ship)

A shocked look appeared on the Prophet's face, as he watched the enemy air ships fire upon them, he looked up angrily, just in time to see them, stop firing and redirect their cannons, he saw that they were now pointing straight at them.

"Sir, their locking on to us!" he heard on of the soldiers yelled, he turned to the captain, "give the order for all ships, to raise their shields to maximum, and to focus firing on those pathetic fools" he said, the captain nodded, and ran over to the intercom, and relayed the orders to all three ships.

(Guardian's fleet, commanding ship)

Shining Armor watched with a smile, as the cannons began to open fire, on the enemy ships, that is until he saw the shells, making no effect, "sir, they have just raised their shields to maximum, are weapons are too weak" he said, a panicked look appeared on his face, he quickly turned to Dark Star, and was about to say something, before he was interrupted.

"sir, their locking their weapons on us" the soldier said panicking, Shining Armor thought for a moment, "raise our shields, ad continue to fire at them, we might be able to weaken their defenses" he said, before he again turned back to Dark Star, with a serious look on his face.

"there is another way, I can go over there, and stop their commander" he said as he took out another one of the necklaces, Silver used to take himself, and Twilight and her friends to Canterlot, Shining Armor's eyes widened, as he saw Dark Star place it on the ground, in front of him.

"Wait, don't do this" he said, but Dark Star didn't listen, he pressed his hoof down on it, and just like the others, he became enveloped in a white light, and soon he was gone.

(League fleet, commanding ship, cargo bay)

Dark Star appeared in another white flash, and found himself inside the cargo bay; he looked around and saw weapons, from knifes and spears, to crossbows.

He slowly began to make his way to the door, and when he opened it, he saw no sign of guards anywhere, "alright Prophet, I'm coming for you" he said as he ran down the hall.

(League fleet, commanding ship)

The Prophet watched as they both rained fore on each other, but doing no effect, just then, one of the soldiers spoke up, "sir, we seem to have an intruder onboard" he said, while turning up to him, a frown appeared on the prophet's face, "well, find out who it is, and kill them" he said, with a cold expression on his face.

"but sir, he's already taken out every guard onboard, he's on his way here" he said, with a nervous look, a shocked expression appeared on his face, and it looked like he was deep in thought, and just as he did, his eyes widened.

Shortly after, they all heard the door break open, and slam to the floor, the Prophet didn't need to turn around to know who it was, a smile appeared on his face, "ah Dark Star, my old friend, have you come to surrender" he said with a chuckle, he heard Dark Star speak up.

"you wish, I'm here to stop you, I'm tired of running" he said as he got into a fighting position, the Prophet just laughed and turned around, "so, it's takes you this long, to finally face me, I'm sure Rose would have been proud" he said in a mocking tone, this only made Dark Star angrier.

"How dare you even say her name, now enough of your talking, it's time to finish, what we both started" he said, as both of them unsheathed their knives and charged at each other.

(Canterlot castle, outside the throne room)

After receiving a hard punch to the chin, Silver landed hard on his back, he shook of his dizziness and looked up to see Night Wing jump up in the air, with his knife at the ready, needing to act quickly, Silver rolled to the side, just as Night Wing hit the ground, at first Night Wing's knife planted firmly into the ground, and he had a moment of trouble pulling it out.

After he finally did, he turned to the side, and was met by a buck to the face that sent him, a good ten feet away, Silver smiled, as he saw Night Wing push himself up, and enraged look on his face, "okay, no more mister nice pony" he said as Silver charged forward, and right as he was about to swing his knife, Night Wing moved to the side, and in a swift motion brought his hoof right into Silver's face.

Silver cried out in pain, as he stumbled to the floor, while Night Wing just stood over him, Silver got up and stood in front of him, a sinister smile appeared on Night Wing's face, as he got into a fighting position, and patiently waited for Silver to make a move.

Suddenly Silver lashed out, but his strike was blocked by Night Wing brining his blade up, and blocking it, Silver stopped and did a full spin, and used the momentum, and brought the blade around with him, Night Wing noticed this, and bent down, narrowly missing the blade, as the very tip cut through the very edge of his mane.

Night Wing brought his hoof up to Silver's chest, causing him to reel back, and Night Wing just returned to his former position, Silver got up, and got back in his former fighting position.

Now it was Night Wing's turn to lash out, but seeing this, Silver brought up his knife and blocked it, Night Wing brought it back and lashed out again, each time slowly pushing Silver back, as he blocked his blows, and in one swift motion, Night Wing thrust his blade forward, and it cut into a piece of Silver's armor, Silver saw this, and did the same thing, cutting a hole in Night Wing's cloak.

They both separated and looked at each other; Night Wing took ahold of his cloak, and extended it out, they both a saw a large hole cut in the fabric, he looked up, with a surprised look, he smile as they both got back into their fighting positions.

Suddenly Silver stumbled backwards for a minute; he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, he brought his hoof up to it, and saw a spot of his cloak, now had a small dark red spot on it, he looked up at Night Wing, he saw the faintest hint of blood on the tip of the blade, Night Wing brought it up to his mouth, and ran the tip of the blade through his mouth, and smiled.

Silver grew angrier, he charged forward, and Night Wing simply, dodged to the side, and in a swift motion punched Silver in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, Silver fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

Silver again got up, as Night Wing stepped back, and they stood there just staring at each other, Silver was holding his shoulder, trying to steady himself, Night Wing again, lashed out and Silver did his best to stop the blows, but in a swift motion, Night Wing punched him in the face, and right when he looked back down, he felt Night Wing's blade pierce his other soldier.

He gasped, and looked down, the blade pierced right into his shoulder, as his cloak became soaked with the red liquid, he looked up at Night Wing, as the blood ran down his face, and just as he did, Night Wing pulled it out, and in another swift motion, punched Silver hard enough in the face, causing him to spit out blood as he hit the floor, clutching his wound.

Night Wing walked in front of him, he saw Silver slowly crawling towards his knife, Night Wing reached over and slid it away, Silver rolled onto his back, breathing heavily, Night Wing sighed, "oh I am going to miss you, it's a shame you're going to die, but if it means anything now, you did give me one heck of a fight, and also just to clear things up, what happened to your wife, it was nothing personal, just business" he said as he kicked Silver in the side.

Silver rolled onto his stomach, Night Wing sighed and looked up at the window, he walked over to it, and watched as the war raged on, out in the distance, while Silver, just lay there bleeding.

(Canterlot castle, throne room)

Again Flame, cried out in pain as he was pushed up against the wall by Shadow Blaze, being much taller, Flame's hooves were no longer touching the ground, and he was struggling to breath, "do you know how easy it would be for me to just snap your neck" Shadow said, staring straight into Flame's eyes.

Due to the lack of air, Flame couldn't answer, he just hung there gasping for air, and in a swift motion, Shadow turned around and threw Flame to the center of the room, as he landed, Flame felt intense, and agonizing pain rack his whole body, as he rolled onto his stomach, he coughed up blood.

Shadow slowly began to walk towards him, the entire time, Twilight had tears in her eyes, as she watched her husband, be brutally beaten, "no please, leave him alone!" she cried out, as tears fell from her eyes, the others remained silent, but they also had tears in their eyes.

Shadow didn't acknowledge her cry, he was too focused on Flame, he saw Flame slowly trying to push himself up, when he reached him, he reached down and picked him up by the edge of his armor, Flame barely had his eyes open, but he did see as Shadow raised p his hoof, and punched Flame square in the face, making him fall to the ground, and cough up more blood.

By this time, Flame had blood coming from his nose, his lips, and all the other places where, Shadow had cut him with the knife, every moment he felt weaker, at the moment he couldn't even push himself up, Shadow sighed, and walked past him, and over to the window.

He just looked out, and saw the fierce battle going on, down in the town of PonyVille, Flame had managed to push himself up, he looked up at Shadow and saw him staring out the window, and he then turned his head to look at Twilight and her friends.

He saw Twilight leaning up against the barrier, with tears in her eyes, he always hated to see her cry, in the back of his mind, he remembered he promise he made to her, and it was one he intended to keep, the very thought of Twilight, and his family, gave him new strength, as he pushed himself up on all fours.

He turned over to Shadow Blaze, who was still staring out the window, "you know Flame, I've been curious to know, what is it you fight for, is it for peace, for justice, maybe even for love, these are nothing but illusions, something you make up, when you know that there is nothing left, so that it blindly gives you a reason to fight on" he said as he secretly unsheathed his knife, during the whole time, Flame was simply standing there, trying to maintain his balance.

"but, after personal experience, I learned that it is foolish to hope" he said as he quickly turned around, and using the force of his spin, he threw the knife directly at Flame's chest, time seemed to slow down again, as Flame realized that, he used the remainder of his strength to jump out of the way, but sadly it wasn't enough, instead of hitting him square in the chest, it only hit him near the shoulder, but the force of the throw was enough to send him back to the ground.

He just lay there, crying out in pain, as the blade buried itself right between his chest and shoulder, his armor now stained with his own blood, he managed to look over at his wife, and saw the horrified expression on his face.

He tried to look up, but couldn't get very far, his eyes were blurry with tears as he used what remained of his strength, when he managed to raise his head enough, he saw Shadow Blaze walking toward him, and angry look on his face, that was the last thing he saw before everything around him went black.

**A/N: wow…I hate cliffhangers, oh well, hope you all enjoyed, come back next time to see how it all ends.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: yeah, we are getting closer to the end of this story, this will probably be one of the last few chapters, let us see, how it all comes to an end.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 7: good vs. evil**

As the battle raged on, with the arrival of their air ships, both sides, were now evenly matched in troops, the battle was very intense in the sky, and in the ground.

Rage was charging through the streets of PonyVille, picking off enemy soldiers left and right, he had his own personal goal, to kill the commander of the opposing army, and that is exactly what he intended to do.

As he ran through the streets, he heard a familiar pony shouting, he turned to the side and saw one of the captains of the Guardian's army, an angry look appeared on his face, and just as it did, he heard a shout come from his left, he turned to the side, just in time to see an enemy soldier pouncing on him.

Being trained, in fighting, Rage easily dodged to the side, the soldier dropped the spear he was holding and took out his knife, the soldier then charged at Rage, and in one simple move, Rage drew his knife, and slashed the soldier across the neck, instantly killing him.

The soldier just lay there in a pool of blood, Rage looked over at the spear he had dropped, and then looked back at the female captain, and angry look appeared on his face, as he used his magic to grip the spear, he yelled out as he charged full speed at the female soldier.

When he was about five feet away, he jumped into the air, yelling loudly, the captain heard this and slowly turned around, but was too late, as Rage tackled her to the ground, she cried out in surprise as he pinned her.

He held the spear up high with his magic, being that she wore a helmet, he slowly reached down and grabbed the top, "I want to look into your eyes, as you die" he said as he pulled it off, and threw it to the side, what he saw surprised him, greatly, his eyes widened as he stared down at the face of his former student.

"M-Meadow?" he said completely stunned, he slowly packed away, and dropped the spear to the ground, Meadow pushed herself up, into the sitting position, "Rage?" she asked just as surprised as he was.

He was about to speak, but was cut off by, some pony pushing him to the side, screaming wildly, after he landed he shook off his surprise and looked up, to see the very unicorn he was looking for, standing above him, with an angry look on his face.

"If you even touch her again, I will kill you" Comet yelled, getting in a fighting position, Rage pushed himself up, as his shocked expression, changed back to an angry one, "stay out of this boy, this doesn't concern you" he said, but Comet wouldn't have any of it, Comet yelled out, as he charged Rage at full speed.

Meadow could only look on in horror, as Comet and Rage fought it out, she watched helplessly, as Comet was easily overpowered by Rage's fighting techniques, she watched as Comet was pushed onto his back, with Rage standing over him, with the spear tip, pointed right at his throat.

A fearful look appeared in Comet's eyes, as he looked up into Rage's hate filled eyes, he knew he wouldn't win this fight, he just closed his eyes, and waited for his end, Rage smiled as he lifted the spear higher with his magic.

Just then, Comet heard the sound, of a crossbow being fired off, and the sound of metal piercing flesh, Comet opened his eyes and saw a shocked look on Rage's face, he looked down at his chest, and saw an arrow buried half way into Rage's chest, Rage brought a hoof up to it, and clutched the arrow, he stumbled backwards, and the spear dropped, on to the ground, with a clang.

Rage looked up, at where the arrow came from, and his eyes widened, but not before another arrow was fired off, hitting him directly between the eyes, Rage's eyes rolled back, as he fell to the side, and no longer moved, Comet could instantly tell that he was dead.

He rolled on to his stomach,, and looked up, only to see none other than Meadow Dawn, holding a crossbow, she lowered it, and Comet saw the tears in her eyes, she brought a hoof up and wiped them away, while Comet pushed himself up, the entire time, the battle continued around them.

Just as Comet was almost back on his hooves, he looked up at Meadow, just in time to see, another enemy soldier approaching her from behind, knife at the ready, "behind you!" he shouted, Meadow sharply turned around, and saw him coming, she quickly tried to reload the crossbow, but the soldier was already in the air, jumping at her.

Comet acted quickly and reached behind him, he pulled out his crossbow, and fired off a single arrow; it flew through the air, and hit the soldier square in the chest, the soldier died in the air, but his body still crashed into Meadow, knocking her to the ground.

"Meadow, no!" he shouted as he ran over to her, and shoved the body off her, she coughed as she got up, with Comet's help, he smiled as she got back up on her hooves, he pulled her into a hug, one that she was grateful to return, and when they separated, they stared into each other's eyes', "I guess, we're even now" he said with a chuckle.

Instead of answering, Meadow just pulled him into a passionate kiss, this completely caught Comet by surprise, but he eventually welcomed it, despite the battle going on around them, they managed to shut that out, and enjoy the moment, soon they separated, and again stared into each other's eye's.

Soon Meadow spoke up, "yeah, I guess it does" she said with a smile.

With the commander of the ground forces dead, the enemy army began to lose hope; very few of them began to realize that without their commander, they couldn't fight on, and began to retreat, leaving the remaining troops with no reinforcements, victory seemed near.

But the same could not be said, for the battle in the skies.

(Guardian's fleet, commanding ship)

The entire ship shook, as they received heavy attacks from the enemy ships, one of the soldier's turned and looked up at Shining Armor, who had a terrified expression on his face.

"sir, we're taking heavy damage from the cannons, our shields can't hold it much longer, and our cannons aren't even denting theirs" he said with a panicked voice, as the room shook again, almost knocking all the ponies walking around, off their hooves.

Shining Armor looked down at him, "we can't give up, we have to hope that Dark Star can, deactivate their shields, keep firing!" he shouted, as again he was nearly knocked off his hooves.

(League fleet, commanding ship)

Dark Star and the Prophet, stood their staring at each other, panting heavily, during their entire fight, the other soldiers kept the ship afloat, ignoring the fight going on behind them.

Suddenly the Prophet started chuckling, "you sure have gotten stronger" he said, as he still panted, "I've been waiting for this day for some time now" Dark Star said, as he was also panting.

(Unknown location)

Midnight Star, stood still, breathing in heavily, he sat alone in his own world, that was until one of the others came and interrupted him, "Midnight Star, don't you think it's time?" Lightning asked, as the other appeared.

He sighed, and turned around, he looked at all of his friends, "yes it is time, prepare yourselves my friends, Twilight and her friend need our help, the time for waiting is over" he said as he closed his eyes, followed by all the others.

(League fleet, commanding ship)

By this time, both Dark Star and the Prophet, were both getting weaker, their strength and fighting skill was evenly matched, and they remained focused on each other.

Suddenly a sharp sound filled the room, making most ponies cover their ears, the Prophet turned around, and ran up to the edge, "what's going on?" he demanded, one of the soldiers, turned to him, with a panicked look on his face, "sir, our main shield generator is down, we're completely vulnerable" he shouted, a panicked look appeared on the Prophet's face, as he looked out the window, at the guardian's ships.

(Guardian's fleet, commanding ship)

"Sir, their shields are going down" the same soldier shouted, but this time with a shocked and overjoyed look on his face.

Shining Armor heard this, and soon all the soldiers began to cheer, "Alright, load all cannons, and fire at will, let's take these bastards out of the sky" Shining Armor said happily, the captain and the other soldiers were only too happy to do so.

(League fleet, commanding ship)

A shocked and panicked look, came on to the Prophet's face, "sir, their locking their weapons on us!" the soldier cried in a panic, and soon they were all pushed on to their sides, as the ship's hull was impacted by cannon shells.

"Everpony, abandon ship!" he shouted, and just as he did, all the ponies began to run out of the room, and just as the Prophet made his way to the door, he was tackled to the side by Dark Star, and pushed up against the wall.

"Oh no you don't, you coward, you're going to stay right here, and go down with your ship" Dark Star, said as he pinned the Prophet up against the wall, "are you crazy, you'll die too" the Prophet shouted, trying to break free, but to no avail.

"I'm willing to risk it" he said, but then Dark Star lost his balance, as the ship began to tilt to its side, and another loud alarm filling the room, the Prophet took advantage of this, and head butted Dark Star, and punched him in the face, making him fall to the floor.

The Prophet then ran to the door, but not before tripping, and falling flat on his face, he looked back and saw an enraged Dark Star, grabbing onto his back hoof, pieces began to fall from the ceiling, and crash to the floor around them, the Prophet looked out the window, he saw that the ground was getting much closer.

"Nooo!" he shouted, at the top of his lungs, Dark Star, just simply closed his eyes, and waited for the end.

(PonyVille, near town square)

The battle still went on, but due to the death of the commander, many of the soldiers had either retreated or surrendered, despite that, the battle was still very intense.

After witnessing the death of his commander, the captain, fled the battle field, and took a hoofull of troops with him, he vowed he would come back, and destroy Comet and Meadow Dawn, and all they cared about, if it was the last thing he did.

Comet and Meadow Dawn joined up with Sky Breeze, and lead the final charge against the enemy, both sides clashed, outside the town square.

While he was busy fighting, Comet suddenly heard a soldier yell, not making the same mistake, he dodged to the side, and the enemy soldier hit the ground, and did a quick roll, and got back up on his hooves.

Using his magic, the enemy soldier levitated a spear, and charged at Comet, screaming wildly, Comet waited for the right moment, and in one swift motion, he ducked down, and grabbed the spear with his hooves.

He then kicked the soldier in the chest, and jumped up in the air, he took the spear, and in another swift motion, hit the guard across the face, with the blunt end, instantly knocking him out, he looked at him, and then threw the spear to the side.

Suddenly he heard the Meadow yell out, "Comet, duck!" she shouted, and comet quickly did so, just in time to miss an enemy soldier swinging their blade, luckily for Comet, he evaded just in time, and Meadow shot off another arrow, from her crossbow, hitting the soldier right in the chest.

He smiled and walked up to her, "thanks I owe you one" he said, as she loaded another arrow, "I think I can find a way, for you to make it up to me" she said with a wink, just then, they heard a loud explosion come from above, they all looked up, and saw the enemy lead ship, falling right out of the sky.

The soldiers on all sides, stopped what they were doing, and ran in separate expressions, all screaming, both Meadow and Comet looked up with horrified expressions, Comet was the first to react, by grabbing Meadow's hoof and running in the opposite direction.

They continued to run, as the town fell under the shadow of the falling air ship, as they continued to run, they looked at each other, and nodded, and the slowly began to run in opposite directions, and they both took cover in buildings.

Comet watched as Meadow ran into a destroyed building, and just as the ship passed over, one of the engine pieces fell off, and crashed right into the house, making the entire building, collapse.

Comet watched in horror, as the building crumbled, but he couldn't leave, not without getting crushed himself, he waited for the ship to pass over the town, and so he crawled out from his cover, and watched as it crash landed in the field, outside the town.

After it crashed, Comet ran over to the building that Meadow was in, "Meadow, are you there, come on talk to me!" he shouted as he began digging through the rubble, it was then he heard a familiar female voice call out, "Comet, I'm over here, please help me, I can't move!" she cried out, and so Comet slowly made his way over to her.

When he found her, he saw her, pinned under a giant piece of stone, "help me, it's crushing my leg" she cried out in pain, Comet immediately went to work, by trying to lift it, luckily for him, it wasn't too heavy, and he managed to lift it enough, for her to crawl out.

As soon as she did, he dropped it, and ran over too her, and saw her clutching her bleeding leg, he immediately reached back and tore off the remainder of his cloak, and tied it around her leg, in order to stop the bleeding, he then proceeded to help her up.

"is it finally over?" she asked looking up at him, as they made their way back to Sky Breeze, Comet couldn't help but smile, "yeah, I think it finally is" he said, as they both walked back in silence.

But they were other ponies, still locked in battle.

(Canterlot castle, outside the throne room)

Silver cried out in pain, and coughed up blood, as he was kicked in the stomach multiple time's by Night Wing, and finally with one stronger kick, he was forced on to his side.

Silver, again coughed up more blood, Night Wing, just turned around, and closed his eyes, he took a deep breath, and while doing so, Silver's mind flashed back to the dream he had about his father, he remembered his words, and what his last lesson was.

Silver opened his eyes, and rolled on to his stomach, and slowly and pain fully pushed himself up into a sitting position, he looked over at Night Wing, who still had his back to him, "can you smell it in the air?" he heard Night Wing ask, as he slowly began to turn around.

Silver glanced next to him, and saw the long knife, that Night Wing, was using in the beginning of their battle, he looked back at Night Wing, who had turned back to face him, he saw that his hoof was extended out, and in it was a much smaller knife.

In one swift motion, Silver grabbed the long knife, and charged at Night Wing, and he pushed the knife forward, Night Wing opened his eyes in time to see Silver, push the blade into his chest, he looked up, at Silver, and saw the angry look in his eyes.

Suddenly Silver, yelled out, and pushed the blade in deeper and rammed Night Wing up against the wall, by now the blade was half way into Night Wing's chest, and while Silver stayed there, he saw Night Wing raise the hoof, with the smaller knife in it.

Silver brought up his free hoof, and blocked it, they stared at each other, as they both strained, and suddenly, Night Wing's hoof dropped, and so did any resistance he put up, blood oozed from the wound, and fell to the floor, Silver grunted as let go of the blade, he stepped back, and saw Night Wing's head, simply fall to his chest, that was no longer moving, Silver knew that he was dead.

He looked up at the sky, and smiled, "thank you, father" he said.

(Canterlot castle, throne room)

Flame regained consciousness, after Shadow Blaze, used his magic to pick him up, and bring him up to his face; Flame looked at him, with half lidded eyes.

Shadow had a disappointed look on his face, "such a waste, you have so much potential, and yet you are more willing to die, for love" he said, Flame didn't have the strength to answer.

Shadow looked back at Twilight, and her friends, and then back at Flame, "still, I think it's only fitting, that you hear the wonderful news, before you die" he said as he looked back at Twilight, who had a surprised look on his face, when Flame heard that, he opened his eyes fully.

"tell me Twilight Sparkle, have you told your husband the wonderful news?" he said with a smile on his face, at first Twilight didn't know what he was talking about, but something in the back of her mind told her she did, but she still didn't answer.

Shadow then looked between Flame and Twilight, with a shocked expression on his face, and when he turned back to Flame, a wide smile appeared in his face, "oh, he doesn't know, does he?" he said, turning back to Twilight, who was looking down.

Again, he turned back to Flame, "I guess you didn't know, but your precious wife over there…is pregnant, with your first born" Shadow said with a sick grin, and when he did, even all of Twilight's friends, were shocked, they all turned to look at her, Flame's eyes snapped open instantly, and he looked back at Twilight, with a completely shocked expression.

Suddenly Shadow started laughing, "oh how nice is that" he said as he threw Flame to the ground, causing him to cry out in pain, he looked up and saw Shadow walking towards him, with a sinister grin on his face.

"you know Flame, I was going to just kill you, but now, I think I will keep you alive, but just barely" he said stepping on the knife wound, on Flame's shoulder, making him scream in agonizing pain, causing Shadow too smile wider.

"so you can watch him kill her, and your little pathetic offspring growing inside her, and I'll do it, nice and slowly" he said, but just then, Flame's eyes snapped open, with an angry look, catching Shadow by surprise, he slowly got up, as Shadow backed up, with a shocked look on his face, Flame looked up at him, with hate in his eyes, when Shadow saw this, his eyes widened.

"I won't let you touch her!" Flame shouted as his horn began to glow, and in a bright flash, he disappeared, Shadow looked and didn't see him, he began looking around the room, Twilight and her friends, all looked around.

Shadow walked up to where he was, he looked around carefully, and out of nowhere, he heard loud screaming, and turned to the side, only to be tackled, by Flame himself, the force of the blow was enough to knock Shadow off of his hooves, and to the ground.

As Shadow crashed to the ground, Flame landed on top of him, Shadow looked up, and was about to use his horn, but not before receiving a punch to the chin by Flame, Flame then turned him around, and grabbed Shadow around the neck, and held him to the ground, the entire time, Shadow was trying to break free, of Flame's hold, but the young unicorn became incredibly strong out of nowhere, Shadow had never felt such power, come from an ordinary unicorn.

While Flame was holding him down, he looked up and saw that there was no longer a barrier, and that Twilight and her friend were free.

"Twilight do it!, use the elements hurry!" he shouted, and when he did, Shadow opened his eyes, "what!, are you insane, we will both die!" he said as he was struggling to break free, his only response was Flame tightening his grip more, "shut up!" he said and turned back to his wife, "Twilight, don't listen to him, you have to do it now!" he yelled, as he felt his grip loosening, tears weld up in Twilight's eyes, as she listened to her husband.

"But…you'll die!" she yelled back, but Flame was losing his grip, tears began to spill down her cheeks, "damn it Twilight, you've got to do it, I can't hold him much longer, just do it!" he yelled, as Shadow began to break free.

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she knew they had to stop Shadow once and for all, she turned to her friends, who shared her feelings, despite that, they all nodded, and made their formation, they all closed their eyes, And focused.

Soon they wind began to pick up, and swirl around them, their necklace's began to glow, as they slowly began to rise up into the air, Flame smiled, at what he saw, but still focused on subduing Shadow Blaze, Shadow looked on in horror, as Twilight opened her eyes, but instead of their normal color, they were now pure white.

All their necklace, as well as Twilight's tiara began to glow brighter, and soon enough power was built up, a giant rainbow colored beam, blasted out of the center, and flew straight up in the air, "noooooo!" Shadow screamed out, as the beam made an arch, and came straight down on them.

Soon after, the beam hit Shadow and Flame at full force, creating a large explosion, and a dust cloud that filled the room, completely spent of their energy, Twilight and her friends, landed on the ground, groaning.

As soon as Twilight got, she looked around, but did not see Flame anywhere, she ran forward, into the cloud, "Twilight, wait!" they all shouted as they ran in after her, "Flame, are you there, please talk to me!" she called out, and as she made her way through the cloud, she saw a familiar figure, lying unmoving on the floor, she gasped loudly and ran over to him.

She instantly recognized it as Flame, and when she got up to him, he sat down, and lifted his head, she saw that his eyes were closed, tears flooded her eyes, and her cheeks, as she tried to wake him up.

"Flame, no, no, please!, you can't be dead!, you can't leave me!, not now!, you promised me" she said, but when he didn't answer, she feared the worst, and buried her head in his chest, she reached over and grabbed his hoof.

Her friends saw her, but kept their distance, they all lowered their heads, out of respect, as tears came from their eyes as well, as Twilight continued to cry, she suddenly felt another hoof grab hers, she stopped crying, and raised her head, and looked back down at Flame.

His eyes were wide open, and he stared right back at her, with a smile, "I did promise you" he said, "Flame!, your alive!" she cried out as they leaned in and hugged each other, Flame felt her tears fall on to his shoulder, but at the moment he didn't care, he was just happy to be with her.

Suddenly they heard another pony groaning, they all looked up, and saw a very wounded Shadow Blaze, staggering towards them, his body was full of cuts and burns, "ah how sweet, but it will take more than that, to stop me, I am a god!" he said, as he got closer to them.

Twilight and Flame stood up, and in one swift motion, he picked up his crossbow, and fired off another arrow, but instead of the head, it hit him in the leg, he grunted in pain, but laughed, as he reached over and pulled it out just like last time, "didn't you learn before, that doesn't work" he said, as he set that leg down, and applied pressure to it.

Shadow suddenly fell to the ground, and cried out in pain, he tried to lift himself back up, and did so, but with much difficulty, "what…what is this?" he said, as he looked down at the wound, he heard the sound of an arrow, being loaded, and he looked up to see Flame, pointing it at him, again.

"your mortal now…" he said as he pulled the trigger again, and shooting off the arrow, Shadow looked on in horror, as the arrow hit him square in the chest, he felt the blade pierce into his chest, he gasped as he feel to his knees, clutching his wound, and trying to pull it out, but he was no longer strong enough.

Again he heard an arrow being loaded onto a crossbow, and he looked up, with fear filled eyes, by this time, Flame had stepped a little bit closer, and pointed it at him, "…deal with it" he said as he pulled the trigger, sending the third arrow flying, and hitting him, square between the eyes, instantly killing him, Shadow's eyes rolled into the back of his head, as he slowly fell to the side.

Flame sighed, and walked back over to Twilight and her friends, and just as he did, the door to the throne room, opened up, and in walked a injured Silver, he slowly limped over to them, with a smile on his face, "congratulations, it's finally over, with Shadow dead, the soldiers no longer have any commander, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we've won!" he said with a wide smile.

They all agreed, and threw their hooves into the air in celebration, "but, we still have one last thing to do" Silver said, with a smile.

(Canterlot castle, dungeons)

Celestia and Luna, could hear as the fighting took place, and when it finally stopped, and they began to fear the worst, but just as they had given up, the cell door, flew open, and in walked eight familiar faces, one's that they never thought they would see again.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!" Twilight said happily as she used her magic to unlock it, she ran in an hugged both of the alicorn's, receiving joyful laughs, while Silver and Flame immediately went to work, undoing the chains, and as soon as they were free Luna and celestia stood up, "it's done your highness, Shadow Blaze and Night Wing are dead" Silver said stepping up and taking a bow, earning a laugh from both of the taller ponies.

"you have all done this kingdom a great service, as the Princess's we will bestow upon you the highest honor we can ever give, but not right now, we need to return to PonyVille, and see what has happened" Celestia said, as they all began walking out of the room.

**A/N: wow, that was much longer than I thought it would be, well I hope you enjoyed, come back next time for the last two chapters, which will probably be up tomorrow.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: well, here it is, hope you all enjoy.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 8: victory**

After the commanding enemy sir ship, was shot down, many of the opposing force, knew that it was pointless to fight; many of them surrendered, and lowered their weapons, no longer wishing to fight.

But others, fled back into the forest, Comet agreed to send out a search party, to find them, and bring them back, where they would be given a choice to renounce their life, in the league, and be given a fresh start.

Comet and Meadow Dawn, were walking around the middle of town square, observing the damage, even paying personal visits to the wounded soldiers, but it was then, that one of his soldiers came running in, obviously out of breath, "sir…we've found Dark Star" he said, and when he did, Comet's eyes widened, and he ran out of the tent, and straight to where he was being kept.

(Later…)

After they had left the castle, Silver used the same necklace, he used to teleport them there, to teleport them back to PonyVille, they appeared in a bright flash, right outside the town square, they all smiled at the thought of being home, they looked at each other, and began walking thought the camp.

As they did, they noticed all the shocked looks on the soldier's faces, as they made their way to the center of camp, some of them even bowed in the presence of the Princess's, and finally they made their way to the center.

They all smiled as one of the soldiers walked up to them, Silver recognized him as Striker, they walked up to each other, and shook hooves, "glad to see you made it, but it looks like you took one big beating" he said as he turned around, and motioned for one of the medics to come forward, but not before being stopped by Silver.

"That's not necessary at the moment, all I want to know is, where is Comet?" he said, Striker smiled, and motioned for him to run off and find Comet and Sky Breeze, they waited for a few minutes, before they all heard an overjoyed voice come from behind, "dad!" they heard the voice say, Silver knew exactly who it was.

He got up and slowly turned around, and when he did, he saw a familiar young unicorn, running towards him, with tears in his eyes, Silver himself, felt his eyes get moist, and soon, Comet reached his dad, and threw his hooves around his neck, in a large hug, the others just watched with smiles, at the reunion between father and son, but soon they heard another overjoyed voice.

"Twiley!" they heard a mature male voice say, there was only one pony there, who went by that name, Twilight and Flame spun around, and saw her older brother and his wife running towards them, Twilight felt tears in her eyes, as she got up and ran to him.

They met about half way, and pulled each other, into a big hug, they both cried into each other's shoulders, "I'm so happy you're alive!" Shining Armor said, as they separated, Twilight then moved over and hugged Cadence, while Shining Armor turned to Flame, with a smile.

"I told you, I would keep her safe" Flame said with a smile, Shining Srmor didn't answer, but instead he jumped at him, and pulled him into a big hug, one that caught Flame, completely by surprise.

Soon after they pulled apart, "and for that you have my gratitude, like I said before, I am proud to call you my brother-in-law" Shining Armor said, with a smile.

Just then, Comet looked back up at dad, with a sorrowful look in his eyes, "what…what is it, son?" Silver, asked with a worried glance, "dad…I'm sorry to say this, but Dark Star was the one who destroyed the air ships, but he was critically wounded, the medics say he won't have much time left" he said as he got up, and walked back to the medic's tent, the other all looked at each other, with worried and sad glances, but none more so, than Applejack.

As they all walked in, they were lucky to find the tent big enough to hold all of them inside, including the Princess's, when they walked in, they all say a familiar Pegasus, lying on back, with the doctors standing over him.

"That will be all, we wish to have a final word with him" Comet said, and one by one the, the doctors and nurses cleared out of the tent, leaving only them, alone with their dying friend.

The first to walk up to him, were his own team, they all had tears in her eyes, especially Meadow Dawn, when he heard them walk up to him, Dark Star slowly and painfully turned his head, to look at them, despite his agonizing pain, he couldn't help but smile.

"The Prophet is dead, finally" he said in a weak voice, his three teammates kneeled down; Meadow grabbed his hoof, and held on tightly.

"please Dark Star, you can't die, you're the only family I have left" Meadow said, with tears in her eyes, Night Shadow, felt the same way, Dark Star was like a brother to him, "same goes for me" Night Shadow said, with tears in his eyes, "and me too", Dark Star, heard Beltway say, through his magic.

"Listen to me, if it's my time to go, then I welcome it, but I will say that it's been the greatest honor, serving with all of you" he said, as Comet walked up, and put a hoof on Meadow's shoulder, she just got up, and began crying into his shoulder, all Comet could do, was try to comfort her.

Dark Star, looked over at Beltway and Night Shadow, "promise me, that you will both look after Meadow Dawn for me" he said, Night Shadow and Beltway looked at each other, and nodded, "we promise" they said as they walked away with tears in their eyes.

Just then Flame and Twilight walked up, Flame had tears in his eyes, seeing one of his oldest friends, in so much pain, "Flame, you are one of my closest friends, but before I go, I will say it's been a great honor, serving with you, and knowing you" he said, Flame just grabbed his hoof, and tried to wipe the tears away.

"you did good, Dark Star, you did good, you should be proud, I know I am, it was an honor old friend" he said as they both backed away, and finally the last pony to walk up to him, was none other than Applejack.

Tears poured down her face, as she got up to the bed, and kneeled down, she cried to herself as she, as she took his hoof in hers, they both looked into each other's eyes, "AJ, I never got to tell you…how I feel" he said as his voice became lower, and his breathing began to slow more, he knew he didn't have long, Applejack just stayed there silently crying to herself.

"AJ, I need to tell you something, before I go" he said, turning his head to her, she lifted her head up, and wiped the tears away, she leaned in a little more closer, and he did his best to lift his head.

"I-I-I lo-love y-y-you" he said, right before he lowered his head back down, and closed his eyes for the final time, tears spilled down Applejack's face, as she cried into his chest, the other's in the tent remained silent, and had their heads down, even the Princess's had their heads down, out of respect for the fallen soldier.

Applejack, leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "I love you too" she said, as she got up, "he's gone, there's nothing we can do for him" she said as she began walking away, but not before the Princess Celestia spoke up.

"That is where you are wrong; there is something we can do, but I'm not sure it would work" she said turning to the others, but especially Applejack, who had a surprised look on her face.

"please Princess" Applejack pleaded, she would give anything to bring Dark Star back, the Princess smiled down at her, and nodded her head, "very well then, if you will all step back" she said as she walked over to the bed, with Dark Star's body on it, all the others backed away, and gave the Princess space.

Celestia looked over the body, and then leaned down to his ear, "you have done this kingdom a great service, Dark Star, but your time in this world is not over, your friend still need you" she said as she lowered her horn, and touched the top of his head.

She breathed in heavily and closed her eyes, soon her horn started to glow, they all watched as her horn glowed brighter, despite earlier, celestia felt herself becoming weak, as she tried to focus on her spell, and finally the room filled with a bright flash, and as soon as it was done, Celestia feel to the ground, holding her head, as Luna and Twilight rushed over and helped her up, "I'm fine, don't worry about me" she said as she got up.

Applejack, ran back over to the body, and tried to find any signs of life, but didn't find any, tears returned to her eyes, as she rested her head on the edge of the bed, and began to cry, but just then, Dark Star's eyes snapped open, and he sat straight up, startling them all.

"Whoa, that was one crazy dream" he said, in his normal voice, they all began to cheer, "Dark Star your alive!" Applejack cried out as she nearly tackled him, she wrapped her hooves around his neck, he cried out in the surprise as the others, nearly tackled him as well, the Princess's watched with amused looks on their faces.

"Um, did I miss something?" he said as all of his friends hugged him, after everypony explained what happened, they all began to leave, but Dark Star, was still not in the proper condition to leave, and was forced to stay in bed, and soon everpony cleared out, all except Applejack and Dark Star.

They both stared into each other's eyes, "listen Applejack, about what I said" he said with a nervous look on his face, Applejack smiled and held her hoof up to his mouth, silencing him.

They just stared into each other's eyes, and suddenly Applejack leaned forward and connected their lips in a passionate kiss, this surprised Dark Star at first, but he eventually leaned into it, and wrapped his hooves around her shoulder, and held her close.

They stayed there for what seemed like hours, but it was really only a few minutes, and soon they separated, and stared into each other's eyes again, "I love you, Applejack" he said, with a smile, Applejack returned that smile, "I love you, too" she said as they hugged each other, one last time before she was asked to leave by the doctors.

(Later…)

Luna and Celestia were at the edge of camp, just staring at the castle, and the city of Canterlot, they were both interrupted from their thoughts, when Twilight and Flame, walked up behind them, "excuse us, Princess's, but I have to ask, what are we going to do now?" they heard Twilight ask, they both opened their eyes, and turned around, with smiles on their faces.

"Now…all we can do is, fix the damage Shadow Blaze has caused" she said with a serious look on her face, but that went away, when Luna spoke up, "but I suppose we can have a celebration first" she said with a smile, one that made Twilight and Flame smile.

(Later that night…)

Despite the previous events, a massive celebration was held, in the center of camp, everypony was having a blast, and dancing, but many people were just wanting some time to spend with their families, similar celebrations, were held in every city, across the kingdom, Shadow Blaze was no more, the league had been defeated, and the Princesses were back on the throne, leading the kingdom through the harsh times, but that would wait, tonight everypony wanted to party.

Twilight and Flame watched as all the other ponies, dance and have fun, but the two of them had other plans, they remembered seeing Shining Armor and Cadence, sneak off for some alone time, but they had a pretty good idea, as to what they were really up too, but nopony could blame them, this was a time for celebration.

"well, now that Shadow is gone, we can look forward to the future" Twilight said, with a smile, Flame looked over at her, "yeah, but I can see something very special in our future" he said as he placed a hoof on her stomach, they both smiled and turned back and watched as ponies, relaxed and had fun.

The war was over, peace had returned, as of now life was good.

**A/N: well, there you have it, there will probably be two more chapters left, see you then for the end.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: this is going to be the second to last chapter, of this story, I hope you all enjoy.**

**The Last Stand: chapter 9: dawn of a brighter future**

A few months had passed, since the end of the war, and everypony across the kingdom, was contributing to the rebuilding of the war torn nation.

Life had returned to normal for most ponies, and they all moved on with their lives, many new families were started.

Also, after learning of Twilight's pregnancy, Flame was hard at work to help rebuild their home, which was one of the first buildings to be repaired in PonyVille, as a special gift to them from the Princess's.

The memory of the battle began to fade as the town where it all took place, was rebuilt to its former glory, the crashed air ships, were taken apart and rebuilt.

But, even after everything, many ponies were happy, and soon the time came, for the birth of the new generation, weeks after their home was rebuilt, Twilight gave birth to a healthy young colt, they were both very happy, they decided to name him, Night Gale

It was a normal day in PonyVille, and Twilight and Flame, as well as all of their friends, were in the hospital, Twilight had come out of recovery earlier that day, they all stood outside the nursery, looking through the window, as the nurse went from crib to crib, making sure everything was fine.

Flame had his hoof wrapped around Twilight's shoulder, they both leaned their heads together as they watched their son, squirming around in his crib, until the nurse came by and comforted him, all of Twilight's friends were there, including Silver, all staring at the young colt.

Just then Silver turned to the proud parents, "congratulations you two, he seems like a fine young unicorn, I'm sure he will grow up big and strong, and make you both proud" he said as they turned and looked through the window.

(Canterlot castle, Celestia's room)

The next day, Celestia walked out on to the balcony, and stared up at the night sky, she smiled and looked on at the horizon, she closed her eyes, and her horn started to glow.

As she did that, a light began to appear on the horizon, as the sun rose up, sending the night to the other side of the world, and beginning a new day for the beautiful kingdom of Equestria, after it was well over the horizon, and began the dawn, she opened her eyes, and smiled, as the warmth of the light, washed over the city of Canterlot.

Just then she heard a set of hooves walk up behind her, she looked to her side, and saw her sister standing next to her with a smile on her face, "another beautiful day, sister" she said as she looked up at the older alicorn, Celestia smiled again, and chuckled to herself.

"yes, and we owe it all to Twilight and her friends, if it weren't for them, you and I would never be able to raise the moon and the sun again, they have done more than we could have ever asked of them" she said as the two sisters stared out at the sunrise.

As they stood there in silence, they heard a third set of hooves walk up beside Celestia, "I couldn't agree more, your highness" said a familiar voice, that the Princess's haven't heard in many years, "Midnight Star, it's so good to see you again" Celestia said, as they both turned to face him.

Midnight Star, was taller than most unicorns, but not nearly as tall as the Princess's, "likewise" he said as he grabbed Celestia's hoof and lightly kissed it, such a manner was no longer required, in the Princess's eyes, but they didn't mind.

The three of them, turned back and watched as the horizon grew brighter, "you are right, Twilight and her friends, have done more than we thought possible, they have proven themselves worthy, to bear the elements" he said, with a calm and happy tone.

"You have waited many years, for the time when you were needed again, and yet you come to us now?" Celestia asked looking down at him, "the other's as well as myself, could only step into the mortal world one last time, and I am using mine to come and warn you" he said, as his tone grew more serious.

They turned to face each other, Celestia and Luna had confused looks on their faces, "warn us about what?" Luna asked, stepping forward, "you know as much as I do, many of the league's soldiers, fled before capture, and are still out there, what you must know is that, there will always be one pony who will follow in Shadow's path, and try to complete his work, but are you ready, if that time comes" he said looking up at Celestia.

She looked down at Luna, and then back out at the sunrise, "we shall cross that bridge, when we come to it, but we will keep a watch out for any of them, and that I will promise you" she said, looking back down at him, he smiled and again they all turned back to the horizon.

Celestia and Luna, knew Midnight Star was right, the attacks from Shadow Blaze, proved to them, that the kingdom was weak, and defenseless, it was time to prepare, and make sure that the same kind of tradegy, would not happen again, and that was what they intended to do.

_**A/N: well, there you have it, but there is still one last chapter, before the real end, see you then.**_


	10. epilogue

**A/N: here it is, the real final chapter of the guardian series, I hope you have enjoyed reading, now let's see how it all raps up.**

**The Last Stand: epilogue**

It had now been two years since the war, and everything had returned to normal, almost all of PonyVille had been rebuilt, as well as many of the other towns, which were attacked by the league, the capital city of Canterlot, was fully rebuilt, as well as the castle.

A promising future seemed to be on the horizon, many great things have happened since then; a new era of peace befell the kingdom of Equestria, as a brighter future dawned.

Twilight and Flame, were blessed with a second foal, a daughter named Star Dust, she unlike her brother, was more laid back, but always seemed to show a mischievous side, much like her father, but her brother, took more after her mother, always loving to read books and studying, but he always took time out of his day to spend it with his friends and family.

One month after Star Dust was born, Shining Armor and Cadence became the proud parents, of a single daughter, who they named Melody, much like her father she took a great interest, in the royal guard, and as soon as she became of age, she joined the royal guard academy, much to her father's delight, despite being young, she quickly graduated and joined the ranks of the royal guards.

After they confessed their love to each other, Applejack and Dark Star got married, they now live together on the ranch, where Dark Star helps all he can.

Deciding to live a different life, Dark Star resigned from his position as leader of the Wolf Pack, and passed it on to his closest friend and brother, Night Shadow, and now Night Shadow and Beltway work hard to restore the Wolf Pack to its former glory, and it is now one of the biggest independent military organizations, aside from the royal guard itself, although they are separate from the government and the royal guard, they are not afraid, to come to the aid of their friends.

Eventually, Dark Star and Applejack had a foal together, a son that they named Solar Glaze, he took much from his father's side, he loves to train with his father, but also helping his mother and his uncle Macintosh around the ranch.

Only a year after the war and After a long and private talk with the Princess's, Silver and Celestia agreed that the Guardian's should no longer be a secret society, and so the ancient society, that had protected Equestria for thousands of years, was disbanded, and reorganized into the first Equestrian Secret Service, or more commonly known as the E.S.S, their sole duty, is to prevent any disaster from striking the citizens of the kingdom.

Silver and Shining Armor, now work to keep the citizens of Equestria safe from harm, with Silver's title was changed from Grand Master of the Guardian's, to Chief Commander of the E.S.S, they work side by side, now with anypony can have the chance to join either one.

But new love also bloomed, with Silver and Dark Star's permission, as soon as they came of age, Comet and Meadow Dawn got married, and bought a house all for them in Canterlot, Comet and Meadow Dawn now serve with Silver as second in command of the E.S.S., but new life has found its way into many ponies' lives.

One year after their marriage, Meadow Dawn gave birth to a healthy young unicorn filly, they decided to name her Aurora, and she had the calm and gently personality of her mother, but sometimes showed a more mischievous side, much like her father.

Yes, life had returned to normal, for our heroes, they all lived happy lives and peace reigned, in the beautiful land of Equestria, as the memory of the war faded away, but on a single night, all of Twilight's friends, met with the Princess's, in a secret meeting, at the castle in Canterlot

There, they agreed in order to protect their foals, that they would not be told of the truth, about the war, about Shadow Blaze, about anything, they all made a pact that night not to tell their foals, and keep the real truth hidden from them, as painful as it was, they knew it had to be done, they wanted to lead simple lives now, full of happiness and peace.

But the one thing about peace is, is that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, it never lasts forever, and our favorite heroes are about to learn how true that really is, because even now, in the darkest areas of the kingdom, another enemy of equal ruthlessness is waiting for the right time to strike.

**THE End…?**

**A/N: well there you have it, that is the end, yes you know it, there will be a single story continuation, that continues the story of our favorite heroes and their foals, with this new danger approaching, can the new generation face up to it, and be like their parents, or will history repeat itself.**

**Also, a huge thanks to my good friend, Eddie201, he was the one who helped me write this story, he was kind enough to lend me his OC's, and they are: Dark Star, Night Shadow, Beltway, Meadow Dawn, Rage, and The Prophet.**

**I would recommend his stories; he is a very talented writer.**


End file.
